Further Adventures of the Sunnydale Ranger
by fmfan1980
Summary: YAHF- Sequel to The Sunnydale Ranger. With Halloween over, Willow's trying to balance the way her friends see her as the mousy girl and how she wants to see herself; all while trying to make a difference using the knowledge and skills she gained from the Galaxy ranger known as Niko. Please review. (Warning: There are a few dark chapters.) *Fixed Chap 38.*
1. A Recap and Update

**Willow's Room, 11:00pm.**

It had been two months since the Halloween incident that made everyone in Sunnydale who bought, or rented their costumes, from the shop known as Ethan's turn into who, or what, they were dressed as thanks to a spell. Xander had been turned into a soldier thanks to the toy gun he bought from that shop, Buffy was transformed into a young woman of privilege from the Eighteenth century thanks to the costume she rented from Ethan's; and then there was Willow who rented a belt with a five pointed badge in the shape of a star.. complete with a toy shotgun on its holster. She was going to initially pick up a ghost costume, but thanks to being pushed by Buffy and Xander, she instead chose part of a costume that was meant to be used for a live action show that never was… a show that instead became a kids cartoon in the mid-eighties; she picked part of a costume of a Galaxy Ranger called Niko.

The night the magic activated was pure chaos. Willow could only watch helplessly as someone else seemed to take over her body. She remembered being panicked at first; she was afraid that her body, which was going on autopilot, was going to harm people.

Then Willow saw Niko's memories; the redhead could only look and smile as she absorbed her knowledge, her experiences, her training… everything that Willow wanted to be, Niko already was. She was a trained archaeologist, an expert on mystical elements for her team, the Series Five Galaxy Rangers; she was a skilled martial artist, she was intelligent, and she had knowledge about the future.

Willow knew that it was a fictional future, but she knew that some of the ideas were sound.

What attracted her was the strength and confidence that Niko exuded, the same things that Willow felt she didn't have. The Sunnydale redhead watched as the Galaxy Ranger took down what seemed to be a werewolf, she watched as she met with Xander, and then with Buffy. Willow watched as they met with Cordelia who was the one to take the three Scoobies to Giles so that he could figure out what the heck was going on.

Willow then experienced Niko's background; she saw the ranger's parents dying when she was just a child, she saw and experienced the anguish at being taken away from her homeworld of Alspeth to the planet Xanadu by the woman who would become Niko's mentor; Ariel of the Circle of Thought.

Ever since she met Buffy, Willow's been introduced to magic.. to the mystical elements of her best friend's life; and she wanted to know everything she could so that she could help the Slayer. Now, Willow had Niko's mystical training… everything that Niko learned herself… everything that Ariel trained Niko in.. Willow also knew. But the redhead also recognized the responsibility in wielding mystical forces respectfully.

It made her humbled as she looked at how powerful Niko was; but still she remained in control whenever she used her powers.

Willow saw Ariel also train Niko's latent psionic abilities; telekinesis and limited clairvoyance.

To Willow; it was exciting to know all this information about the person who had taken over her body. She then saw, through Niko's eyes, as she took on Spike. She punched the air excitedly when Niko fired her shotgun knowing full well that all that would do was release intense light and sound; but it was enough to distract Spike. Willow watched as Niko smashed the butt of her weapon into Spike's face, she watched as Niko punched and kicked him… she also grimaced when the surprise faded and Spike took control of their fight. She watched as Spike nearly beat Niko, crashing her trhough the table in the library, and then picking her up and pushing her to the wall while Giles and Angel had taken Cordelia and Buffy away earlier. Willow saw the Private Xander getting up to help when Spike was preparing to bite into Niko.

'Fight, Niko… Fight!' Willow remembered shouting.

It was then she, and Niko, saw a vision of Ariel in the library; the old woman encouraged Niko to fight on, to be the Ranger she was trained to be.

But Willow never knew who Ariel was really talking to; was it to Niko, or to her.

Or was it to the both of them?

In the end it didn't matter as Giles and Angel returned to help, and by that time that Private Xander had finally stood up and was ready to make a move. Willow remembered howling in excitement when Niko, encouraged by Ariel's words, head butted Spike and then kicked him. She remembered that Spike was now surrounded by Private Xander, Giles, and Angel; she remembered the look on Spike's face as he chose to run instead of fight all of them.. but Willow saw Niko mentally pull him back and then slam him onto the ground. She then saw Niko mentally lift the wooden shards of the table that Spike had earlier smashed Niko though, and then things got dizzy. Willow remembered that Niko missed the heart of the vampire on her first try, and then on the second try just before Spike escaped with a piece of wood piercing his back.

Willow then felt dizzy, as did Niko, as Giles held on to her while Angel was telling her that Willow's body wasn't used to her Ranger training.

'No kidding, Sherlock,' thought Willow to herself as she looked at what was going on through Niko's eyes.

Willow then saw them, minus Angel, Buffy and Private Xander, heading to Ethan's.. with Cordelia insisting on going since she was the one who found the address. Willow grinned when Niko punched the architect of the situation they found themselves in, a person by the name of Ethan Rayne; actually she grinned wider when Niko punched him again. It was Cordelia who figured out that the statue of Janus was the key in defeating the spell, and Giles managed to get confirmation of that fact from Ethan.

However, the grin on Willow's face vanished when Ethan mentioned a possible downside; that the removal of Niko's Series Five implant from her frontal lobe could turn Willow into a vegetable, or it could even kill her. Ethan told Giles that was a possibility since the destruction of the Janus statue would take away the implant which was responsible for boosting Niko's natural psionic abilities to a massive level through the release of Alpha Radiation to the implant from pressing the badge.

The man said that the implant would go away, but the damage done by the implant vanishing could kill her.

"Maybe," Willow remembered the creep saying.

Willow put her hands on her head as she looked with eyes wide open as Ethan told Giles that Niko would stay alive, but everyone else would suffer; or he could potentially kill Niko, and Willow, in return for saving everyone else.

'That.. that's not a even a fair choice and…,' thought Willow to herself just as Niko turned to face the Janus statue, and then looked at Giles before she started to talk again. Willow listened as Niko told Giles that she has a way to save Willow's body and mind, he just needs to break the statue when she tells him to.

'Wait, that means that…. Whoa.'

Willow felt a massive surge of power after Niko pressed her badge; the Alpha radiation was absorbed by the Series Five implant which then massively boosted her natural abilities. The two redheads saw magic, they saw the tendrils from the Janus statue attaching themselves not only to the Galaxy Ranger's badge, and the Series Five implant in her head.. but to numerous people out there in Sunnydale.

And she had no idea what those tendrils did, or what creature's people had become. Willow knew that Niko was worried if she cut the tendrils haphazardly, then someone who is a monster right now.. will remain a monster if the tendrils are cut while the magic was active, and then followed by the Statue being destroyed.

With the charge in her badge nearly finished, Niko made the tough choice of cutting the tendrils that went to her badge and the Series Five implant.

'I don't want to be forgotten.'

Willow turned around to find the long haired Galaxy Ranger looking back at her.

"I'm sorry," said Willow to the Ranger.

"It was an adventure," said Niko to the Sunnydale redhead, "farewell, Willow."

Willow then saw the image of Niko vanish. When she heard a voice and turned around to find her physical body looking at Giles.

"Break it… now!"

Willow closed her eyes as Giles smashed the statue onto the floor. The redhead then felt a tingle go through her entire body when she suddenly felt pain; pain and the smell of iron that she knew, thanks to Niko's memories and experiences, was blood.

She was back in control of her own body now; and it was then she heard Giles call for Niko.

Willow had a split second decision to make. She knew that if the others knew about her remembering being Niko, then they'd be asking all sorts of questions. She was also worried that her friends would see her differently if she told them that she remembered everything about that night… she didn't want to answer questions about a fictional future or about the Rangers, or about the Bureau of Extra Terrestrial Affairs. She wanted to remember Niko her own way. She wanted it to be her own little secret.

So she lied. She told Giles she didn't remember anything, and wanted to know why her body was really painful; which it was as Willow grimaced while she walked back to Cordelia's car.

It was the next day at the library, after Buffy and Xander had left that Giles found out the truth; that Willow really did remember what happened, and that she had retained Niko's powers, experiences, and training. However, he had to learn it the hard way; He knew that Willow was hiding something, and so he intended to surprise Willow with a knife attack which the redhead dodged, she even performed a back-flip to put some distance between herself and the watcher. When he continued the attack, Willow twisted Giles' hand and then tripped him until he fell to the floor.

That was what happened two months ago.

And ever since that day in the library, Willow asked Giles to train her when he wasn't training Buffy. She told Giles that while she had Niko's Ranger training and experiences in her mind, but her body wasn't used to that punishment. She told Giles that she had all of Niko's experiences in her mind, and it felt as if she did them herself, but her body knew it didn't and was now screaming in pain.

That's what Willow felt the day after some light conditioning training with Giles; pain and soreness throughout her body. In the beginning Willow trained alternate days with Giles after school, a few hours before Giles would go with Buffy on patrol; the Watcher commanded that Willow not to go out on her own and try to be a hero. He told Willow that since she didn't want Buffy and Xander to know that certain things had changed, then she had to be the same Willow they had always known.

"I know" said Willow the first night she was struggling to do push-ups while Giles sat on the bench right outside his apartment while reading a book, "I'm not going to go out and suddenly wear the same kinda stuff that Cordy wears. I mean.. I like my fuzzy shirts. They're cute."

"Be that as it may, Willow" said Giles, "you still have to be careful; of course you know what my opinion is on this need to keep secret about what you know in regards to Niko's experiences as a Galaxy Ranger."

"Yea" said Willow as she got on her knees and wiped her forehead while panting after completing only ten push-ups, "but then again, you're the one who said I have to keep everything low-key in case Spike's watching me. If I tell Buffy, or Xander… especially Xander, then you know what's gonna happen."

"Indeed" sighed Giles as he looked up at a sweaty Willow who was wiping her forehead on her shirt sleeve. He then looked back down at his book and told the redhead to do another fifteen push-ups.

"But my arms, my shoulders… everything's burning" said Willow as she got back onto the push-up position.

"That's a good thing" said Giles as he looked at Willow, and then back at his book, "now begin."

Over the next few days, Giles watched as Willow continued her training; firstly her physical training… and then the next week they started training her telekinesis. She told Giles about how Niko was trained on Xanadu; with the watcher telling her that she should continue that same training that Niko had received from Ariel.

"That's the best thing way to learn, Willow" said Giles while the redhead was jogging around the courtyard outside his apartment after school, "from how you described Ariel and this Circle of Thought, they are a very powerful group of psychics, psionics and users of magic; I'm confident that you can use the training that Niko had undergone to improve on her telekinesis and clairvoyance; at the same time you'd learn how to put it to good use by following their instructions. But the issue right now is magic."

"I know" said Willow, "Niko was tempted by magic.. it.. I mean I can feel it. She meditated to remain in control and her intensive training helped too. It's like the fighting and physical training, Giles; I know it, I can feel it.. I mean I know I can do it but… I'm still…inexperienced in actually doing magic."

"That's a good feeling to have, Willow" said Giles as Willow took a break and sat on the ground, "magic is…. dangerous. First though, I want you to separate your telekinesis using your mind, from telekinesis using magic. That's your first assignment."

"Ok" said Willow, "I can feel it if I'm using magic… Niko can, so that means I know what it feels like. But the while clairvoyance thing.. that's gonna be difficult. I need the Alpha radiation that powers the badge to do that whole thing at a higher level."

"How is that going?" asked Giles, referring to the search for an Alpha Radiation source, while Willow shook her head.

"I'm searching online" said Willow, "I've read that someone at Caltech's using Alpha radiation for some experiments… all I have to do is get the badge as close as possible to the source, and it'll absorb the radiation and increase the charge. Right now? The badge only has… maybe, just a quarter charge left. Which means I can only use the Series Five implant in my head another two times.. maximum."

"Find out what you can about what's going on at Caltech" said Giles as Willow nodded her head.

Back in the present day two months after Halloween, Willow was floating over her bed while sitting cross-legged and completing some last minute studying for an exam the next day. She was reading the textbook and highlighting some notes, while splitting her focus to the different pieces of a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle that was floating all around her. To take a break from the studying, Willow would look up and look at the completed part of the puzzle, and then at the rest of the seven hundred and thirty eight different pieces to find the next few pieces. She looked up, and then down, and to her left and her right while the pieces were all floating around her using just her telekinesis.

Willow smiled when she stopped the pieces moving, and then looked at the completed section of what looked to be a castle, before she looked up, and then to her right and took out five pieces and floated then in front of her. Then she used her fingers to put them into position, making sure they fit before using her telekinesis to attach the finished section to the completed section. She then looked at her clock and opened her eyes wide before she mentally put all of the pieces into the box, and then the partially complete section on her table. She then gently landed on the bed before getting of it and then putting her books on the table.

The redhead had been going from strength to strength on her telekinesis using the training methods that Ariel had used on Niko, including fine control of multiple objects using just telekinesis. Willow had already had used different piece puzzles to train her focus and control for the telekinesis, and she had been going from strength to strength until she could levitate herself. Her physical training was also going well; as well as it could be. She was finding it much easier now without her waking up the next morning with her body in pain and barely being unable to lift her arms. She and Giles were already working on punches and kicks, and with Niko's experiences and memories already in her head.. Willow just needed to know the basics before she was able to use the proper techniques that Niko had been trained in.

As for magic, Giles had gotten in touch with someone from a nearby coven without any links to the Watchers Council who agreed to teach Willow the basics; Giles told the redhead that with her memories of what Niko was trained in with mystics, she'd be able to build on it slowly over time once she learnt the basics of magical control. In the meantime, Willow had been doing meditations to keep herself centered; similar to the meditations that Giles had taught Buffy to keep her centered.

"But the important thing is…," said Giles over a month ago as he pointed his hand towards the sky.

"As Ariel would say, control the magic… don't let it control you," said Willow, "be calm, be collected… don't panic. Confidence is key, and always ask for help if you get stuck."

"Exactly," said Giles nodding his head.

Willow knew that someone form the Coven would be coming to see her next week, and the redhead was meditating every morning and every night after training with Giles. She'd still go out with Buffy and Xander; she'd still be research girl for Buffy even before she faced Spike again. It was about a month earlier when an old friend of Buffy's named Ford supposedly moved to Sunnydale. Once night Spike and a few of his minions attacked Buffy, Ford, Spike and Xander… the bleached vampire actually going for Willow first; their first encounter again, following their fight in the library on Halloween.

"Buffy!" willow shouted as Spike grabbed her and then pushed her against a garbage dumpster while Xander was hitting a vampire with a wooden beam. In the meantime, Buffy was fighting a female vampire when she looked back over her shoulder once she heard Willow's scream.

"Will!" shouted Buffy at seeing Spike dragging Willow, and Ford running at Spike, "Ford! Get Willow!"

Buffy saw Spike fling away Ford who landed on the ground after he slammed Willow onto the ground. Buffy remembered what Giles said about Willow being someone who Spike could find a threat, given that she nearly beat him during the Halloween encounter. The blonde Slayer remembered Giles telling her to stay with Willow, especially at night.

"Crap," said Buffy as she punched the vampire she was facing before taking out her stake.

Meanwhile, Willow looked up at Spike and knew that she could just telekinetically push him away. She was already feeling the mental power building in her mind as he rushed at her. She quickly looked around and knew that none of them could see Spike mysteriously being pushed away.

'But Spike will know' thought Willow to herself as she looked at Spike coming at her, 'he thinks that I'm the one he fought that day… and he looks so mad.'

"Show me what you can do, pet" said Spike as he roughly picked Willow up and then pushed her against the wall. He then ran and held her tight and leaned forward, "do that thing you did again… and then I'll let you go."

"I.. I don't have those powers" said Willow as she started to tear up while she looked over his shoulder at Buffy who had just staked her vampire before she turned and was immediately tackled by the one that Xander was fighting. Willow then looked at Xander who was on the ground, slowly getting up to his feet. He looked at Willow, and then screamed while running toward them. Willow then looked at Spike who gave a grin before he shoved Willow against a dumpster again and then he turned and punched Xander in the chest, and then kicked him into the path of Ford who was running towards them. The result being that both of the males fell onto the ground.

"Hey" said Willow as Spike turned around angrily, only to be met by a kick to his groin.

"Ummm….." continued Willow while she nervously back away while Spike opened his eyes, and mouth wide, in pain, "I.. that wasn't me. I mean…at the library that day… you know? I heard about what happened and… It was a curse and.. and a lot of kids who bought costumes from that shop had it and… umm…. Sorry?"

'Come on.. attack me,' thought Willow as she backed away when Spike turned on his vamp face. She then saw Buffy stake the other vampire before turning around and running towards Spike and Willow.

"Guess you're weak again, huh?" asked Spike as he leaped at Willow with a snarl. He grabbed the redhead and was about to bite her, with Willow doing everything she could to not use her abilities as Buffy got closer and closer, as did Xander and Ford. She felt Spike's breath on her neck just before he bit down on her; Willow felt his fangs pierce her skin just as Xander grabbed the vampire by his shoulders and then screamed and pull him off Willow before spinning around and pushing him away. Spike then turned around when he smelled Buffy's perfume and blocked her stake while smiling at the blonde Slayer, telling her that her friends were all weak… and that he was wrong.

"Red there goes last,,, she's no threat" said Spike as he knocked the stake out of Buffy's hand and then pushed her off him. Buffy then grabbed him and flung him against a wall before she picked up the stake she dropped and ran towards the vampire. She then punched him, before turning around and delivering a kick to his solar plexus which knocked him against a wall. She then ran forward with the stake pointing out at the vampire who dodged it at the last minute and slammed the Slayer into the wall again. Buffy then turned around in anger at Spike, she glanced over at her best friend who was still bleeding while she and Xander tried to press down on the wound. Buffy then glared at Spike before she gave him a kick and flung him a few feet away.

"You'll see her die, Slayer" said Spike as he quickly got up before he laughed and ran away. Buffy was about to go after him when Xander called out to her, and then Ford revealed that he knew about Buffy being the Slayer in L.A… which came as a surprise to everyone. What was even more of a surprise was the discovery that Ford was later allied with Spike; Ford promised the vampire he'll bring Buffy to him if he turned him… and over the next two days, he confirmed Spike's suspicions that Willow was just a powerless girl who was still complaining about the bite that she received from Spike.

Back in her room, Willow opened one of her drawers and looked at the Galaxy Ranger badge and smiled. She brushed her fingers over the smooth metal as she closed her eyes and remembered flying through Hyperspace on their ship, Ranger One. Willow then sighed, knowing that it would have been fun to play around with advanced technology before she put the badge back in the drawer. As she closed the drawer, Willow remembered the look on Buffy's face after she left Ford to get bitten by Spike in the trap he had set for her. He had also intended to sacrifice a hundred other people in a club that thought vampires were romanticised creatures; but she had gotten herself, and the people out. And left Ford trapped inside with Spike and his crew.

The next day, Buffy told Willow that later that night, Ford rose up as a vampire and she killed him.

Willow then turned the nightlight on before turning off the lights in her room. As she got into her bed, she traced the healed bite marks on her neck and remembered everything that happened since then; from minor demons and vampires she helped research while content that her secret was safe and she was out of danger.. but at the same time kicking herself that Buffy was in Spike's crosshairs again. It was Giles who told her that she did the right thing, that it was better that she be Buffy's ace in the hole; her secret guardian angel. She had helped Buffy covertly, using her telekinesis to knock vampires off their feet, or throw a weapon out of the hands of a demon. She was there during the return of Ethan Rayne during the incident where he tried to put the tattoo of the Mark of Eyghon on Buffy.

Willow remembered sneering at the man after seeing him again once more at the end, where Angel saved the day. The redhead glanced over at Giles who was comforting his girlfriend, Jenny Calendar who was host to Eyghon, before he looked up at Willow with rage in his eyes. Willow then saw that Rayne was making a run past them, the redhead purposely let him push past her before she turned and looked at the man while Buffy ran after him. Willow then gave a small smile when she telekinetically hit the back of his knees, causing him to fall onto his back. Then Buffy picked him up and told him to leave Sunnydale for good, that if she saw him again.. then there would be trouble.

As Willow looked on, she remembered the look that Ethan had given her after Buffy released him. She smirked at the man before mentally pushing him hard into a parked car.

"Hey," said Buffy while Ethan looked at the Slayer, and then at Willow, and then at the Slayer again. Buffy took a step forward as Ethan ran hurriedly away, "weirdo."

Back in Willow's room, the young redhead chuckled at that memory, and the other memories where she covertly helped Buffy; and then closed her eyes to prepare herself for a brand new day.

TBC.


	2. What's my Line? (Part 1)

**Sunnydale High School, 0930 hours.**

A week had passed by since the incident with Eyghon and Giles, and things had returned to normal; as normal as it goes for a city over a Hellmouth anyway. It was finally Career Week, the one week that Willow was looking forward to as she pulled both Buffy and Xander to one of the tables to collect their questionnaires, and their Number Two pencils before they sat down to complete the test that would tell them their possible future.

"What're you hoping for, Buff?" asked Willow excitedly as she looked at her best friend and then started reading the questions on the pieces of paper in front of her, and then she eagerly began marking the answers.

"You're too happy, Will," said Xander as Willow looked up at him and grinned before looking at her questionnaire again while Buffy had just opened hers. Almost immediately she made a grimace before looking up and asking Willow if she liked shrubs, that the question was asking if she liked shrubs.

"Do you like Shrubs?" asked Willow.

"Do I?" asked Buffy.

"Don't look at me," replied Xander as he went through the questionnaire before looking up and then back down and reading the questionnaire again, "so, am I a people person, or do I prefer keeping my own company?' Well, what if I'm a people person who keeps his own company by default?"

"Tick none of the above, Xand," said Buffy as she looked through her questions.

"There is no none of the above," said Xander as he leaned forward and whispered, "and you know why?"

"I'm afraid you're gonna tell us?" grinned Willow as Xander narrowed his eyes at the redhead before sighing and then leaning back on his seat, and putting his hands on his head.

"It would introduce more variables into their little number crunching little world," said Xander nodding his head, "and yes… I said little twice to illustrate the littleness of their world."

"Littleness?" asked Willow as she looked at the young man, and then at Buffy who was looking back at her before they sighed.

"I know what I'll be doing," said Buffy as she looked back at the questionnaire, "can anyone here say fast food?"

"Buffy," said Willow as she looked at her best friend.

"Sorry, Buff," said Xander as he shrugged his shoulders, "you'll be looking at a high risk, sub minimum wage future."

"Xander," said Willow as she frowned at her oldest friend while narrowing her eyes.

"He's right, Will," said Buffy as she marked another answer on the piece of paper before looking up at the redhead and shrugged while putting a finger on her own forehead, "it says it right there, 'sealed in fate'. I'm the.. you know.."

"Oh, pooh," said Willow as she frowned while she leaned back and looked at Buffy up and down.

"Will," said Buffy as she narrowed her eyes at the redhead, "are you checking me out?"

"Oooh," said Xander as he leaned forward while both Willow, and Buffy, looked at the excited young man before giving him a questioning look, "I.. mean… you know.. Willow and Buffy and… ummm…. Should I shut up now?"

"Yes," said Willow and Buffy together before they looked at each other again. Willow then asked her to check out the law enforcement section of the career fair, "think about it, Buff. You're the Slayer, you'll be the first to know if there's a demon attack, or a vampire sighting. I mean even if it's a normal day with chasing the suspect until he gives up bit… what I mean is.. you've got the… you know, the mojo to do all that stuff."

"Yea," said Buffy shaking her head before she looked at the questionnaire again, "I don't see myself there."

"How about me?" asked Xander when they suddenly heard Cordelia's voice from behind them. Willow looked back and saw Cordelia looking down at a clipboard and was about to wave at the young woman when she realized where she was; the redhead had already spoken to the dark haired woman and thanked her for helping them during the entire Halloween fiasco. However, Cordelia told Willow not to mention it ever again, that that day was the weirdest day of her life. Ever since then, it was as business as usual between Cordelia and the Scoobies, although Willow would sometime play tricks on the self-proclaimed queen of the Cordette's by using her telekinesis. Back in the present, once the group had finished their questionnaires, they went for their classes and then Willow spent two hour training with Giles outside his apartment after he was done with work.

"So," said Willow as she ducked and then rolled to one side before she got up and jumped over a sweeping staff that Giles was swinging at her feet. She then used the staff in her hand to block him, and then went on the attack, "did you talk to Miss Calendar?"

Buffy, Willow, and Xander had noticed that the interactions between Giles, and Jenny Calendar, the IT teacher had considerably lessened, after the entire Eyghon incident. They had been meaning to ask Giles about it, but they could never find the right time; especially since Giles would shut down after any of them even mentioned he name.

"No," he replied as he stepped back and avoided Willow's swing when he started to swing much harder than before, leading Willow to be slightly faster at blocking. She then remembered one of NIko's techniques of using her telekinesis as she blocked more and more of Giles' hits using the staff. It was a few minutes later that the staff that Willow was holding on to with both her hands broke in half; leading the redhead t o throw the two halves onto the floor as she crossed her arms together and concentrated. It wasn't long before the redhead created a small barrier in front of her, much to Giles' surprise, that blocked the staff's impact. Giles then pulled back and swung lower as Willow jumped over before she rushed forward and blocked another swing with a small barrier, and then another one while she rushed forward again and then finally, she managed to grab Giles' arm before she spun him around and then kicked him below the arm. She then kept on holding onto the arm while she used her other hand and pressed on some of the pressure points, making him drop the staff before she tripped him and then he fell onto the ground.

'Gotcha," said Willow smiling as she panted while looking down at him.

"Are you certain?" asked Giles as he swept her legs form under her, resulting in the redhead yelping as she fell onto the ground... but was a few seconds later that the Watcher was back up again, as was Willow; the both of them facing each other, one waiting for the other to make a move.

Willow then smiled as she mentally pushed Giles slightly before she rushed forward and delivered a sidekick that she missed, as Giles stepped to one side and kicked the back of her knee. Willow yelped as she landed on the ground with one knee before she got up again and hopped on one leg for a few seconds before getting into her stance.

"Confidence is well and good, Willow," said Giles as he punched Willow, which the redhead used her telekinesis to block while she launched another punch herself that hit Giles' shoulder, "but you shouldn't be too over confident,"

As Giles said that, he reached behind him and then took out two small daggers as Willow widened her eyes in surprise. She watched him get ready to throw both of the knives, so she rolled to one side as he threw the weapons at her. Everything had gone into slow motion for the redhead as her roll stopped and she saw the knives flying through the air towards her; almost immediately she telekinetically caught them in mid-air, while Giles ordered her to keep those weapons in the air. He then rushed into his apartment and took out a bag and set it on the ground.

"Giles?" asked Willow as she looked at the Watcher while she was using her telekinesis to keep the two knives in the air. Giles smiled at her before reaching into the bag, and then taking out a knife and pulling his arm back before letting the blade fly towards the redhead. He saw the knife stop in mid-air next to the two knives her had thrown only a few seconds ago. He then reached into the bag and threw an axe at Willow, followed by an arrow from a cross bow, and even a short sword.

"Giles, not fair."

Willow was panting had as all the weapons stopped mid-air, and hung in the air in front of her; their sharp ends all pointed at her.

"Good girl," said Giles as he stood at ease, while panting hard. He then told Willow to release her hold, which she did and all the weapons clattered into the ground instantly. She then let out a huge sigh and sat on the ground before she lay down on the ground while she was breathing hard, her sweat making her grey shirt cling to her chest as she wondered what could have happened if she didn't catch even one of the weapons.

Giles then walked over to the redhead, and looked down at her while reaching his hand out for hers.

"Quite sorry about that, Willow," said Giles pulling up the redhead, "as you know, enemies will use whatever advantage they have to come at you; to come at Buffy, or Xander. They won't play fair as you put it. I believe that should be in Niko's training as well."

"Yeah," said Willow as she bent down and grabbed her knees while she was still panting as she imagines the sharp weapons being thrown and shot at her. She the shook her head, and stood up and looked at the Watcher, "but I guess I never thought you'd be doing it.. you know?"

"You've been training much harder than even Buffy," said Giles as Willow looked around and then helped Giles collect the weapons that were still on the ground, "and you've grown in your skills at an exceptional pace."

"It helps I have Niko's stuff in my head," said Willow as Giles nodded his head whole they picked up the weapons with their hands, "and Buffy's the Slayer, I mean she's stronger than me, she heals faster, so... she also already super strong so she doesn't need that much training and..."

"Everyone needs training, Willow," said Giles as he carried some of the weapons into his apartment, while Willow carried the rest, "think about it this way; without training, would you have been able to stop those weapons in mid-air.. all of them?"

"Probably not," replied the redhead.

"Exactly," said Giles as he handed Willow a cold drink which she gulped down, "Niko's already was trained for that, so it's easy for her. But you haven't.. so you needed to learn. Which is why I asked you to concentrate on what she did for her focus training; and it looks like you've done excellently."

"Thanks," said Willow with a grin.

"Now, come," said the Watcher as Willow picked up her bag, "I'll drive you home."

Willow then walked out of the apartment followed by Giles; the watcher closing the door to his apartment behind him before walking alongside Willow towards the stairs in the distance that led to the curb where his car was parked.

"So," said Willow as she looked at Giles and grinned, "you never said anything about Miss Calendar?"

"No I did not," replied Giles.

"Come on, Giles," said Willow with a pout on her face, "throw me a bone here. Buffy, Xander, and me are worried about you.. I mean there's this clicking sound you make when you're stressed and…"

"Clicking sound?" asked Giles as he looked forward, and then at Willow.

"Yea," she replied, "a clicky sound; and over the past week we've been getting a load of the clicky sound when you're in your office or when we do research or even when.. I mean you're making it right now and…"

"Willow," said Giles with a sigh as he stopped her babbling, "I am not making any clicky sounds; and besides this is going to take time. What happened to Jenny was a horrible thing and.. and if she needs the time to get her mind in order, then I'll let her."

"All we're saying is talk to her," said Willow as she looked at Giles, "for all our sakes… that clicky noise is going to drive us batty. And in Sunnydale, batty isn't a word you wanna use… makes me think about vampires."

"Willow," said Giles as he shook his head at the redhead upon reaching the older man's car, silently telling her not to take the conversation any further than it needs to go.

"Fine," sighed Willow as she got into the vehicle, "I tried… tomorrow it's Buffy who's coming after you. The day after that..it's Xander; and you know what he's gonna do."

"My days are doomed, aren't they?" said Giles as he got into his car and turned the engine while Willow closed teh passenger side door.

"Oh, you know it is," replied Willow with a chuckle as Giles drove teh redhead home.

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sunnydale High School, 03:45p.m; the next day.**

As Willow sat in the brightly lit, large room away from the crowds of students outside who were being assigned to various career seminars following the results of their career test scores, she felt a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach as she sat next to the orange haired young man who had just offered canapés to her. Despite having Niko's knowledge, training, and experiences in her head… Willow was still nervous when it came down to many different things; particularly when it came to boys.

She noticed the young man who was sitting on the other side of the couch after she was pulled away from the safety of the hallway by two mysterious men in black suits; men who Willow initially thought had somehow known about her Series Five implant and were coming after her for that piece of technology. She had already set up her telekinesis as she followed them into a room where there was soft music playing in the background and the smell of food. The redhead was immediately taken aback by the two men in front of her, who turned around just as a waiter approached Willow with a tray of hors-d'oeuvres. Willow looked at the tray, and then at the men confused, and it was a few seconds later that one of them asked her to try the canapé's.

"It's… it's ok, what's going on?" said Willow waving her hand nervously; the redhead still had no idea what was going on, but she felt that if it did turn bad, then she'd be able to take care of it.

She had to since Buffy was away at a cemetery with Giles to investigate why a group of vampires was breaking in and trying to steal something, and Xander had an appointment with a warden since his Career questionnaire indicated that he had a future as a Prison Guard. It was something that both Willow and Buffy giggled at while Willow was saying 'I told you so' to Buffy after the Slayer's results showed that she could have a future in law enforcement.

However, Willow was concerned that there were no results for her.

And it was a second later that she found out why.

"You've been selected to meet with Mr. McCarthy, head recruiter for the world's leading software concern," said one of the men as he pointed back at what Willow thought was a couch. She couldn't make it out since the two of them were blocking her view, but she thought that she saw someone else there as well while the same man continued to speak, "his jet was delayed by fog at Sea-Tac, but he should be here any minute. Please, make yourself comfortable."

"But, I never even got my test results back," replied Willow confused.

"The test was irrelevant," said the other man, "we've been tracking you for some time now."

"That sounds creepy," said Willow before she closed her eyes and shook her head, "I'm sorry, but.. ummm.. is that a good thing? I mean the part about tracking me?"

"Only one other Sunnydale student was selected," said the man as he and his partner moved aside before walking past Willow who looked at them stunned, "good luck, Miss Rosenberg."

"Thanks?" said Willow as she turned around and saw a young man who was sitting on the other end of the couch looking at a tray of the finger food. Willow started to get butterflies in her stomach as she walked towards the couch and then sat down at the other end nervously. She smiled at the young man who looked at her and then did a double take before offering her the tray.

"Canapé's?" he had asked while Willow just smiled nervously before reaching for one and then pulling her arm back while the young man put the tray on the table in front of him, the two of them sitting in nervous silence.

And that is how Willow found herself in this particular situation.

She was playing with her fingers while she glanced over at the young man who was just leaning back on the couch and tapping his things with his hands while he was looking at his surroundings. Willow caught his eyes, and then she looked away and started to look around at her surroundings.

'What's wrong with you?' thought willow to herself as she discretely shook her head while she imagined kicking herself, 'talk to him. Yea he's not Xander, but then again… Xander's been too hooked on to Buffy to notice me, and… oh, come on. Go, Willow, go.'

"H… Hi," said Willow as she looked at the young man as she turned her body around toward him, "I'm Willow."

"Oz," said the young man, "I mean I'm Oz."

"Oh," said Willow as she turned away from Oz and leaned forward nervously.

'Now what do I say?' asked Willow to herself. She could sense Oz was looking at her before he too turned away; the redhead glancing towards him and seeing the small smile on his face. She then looked forward and asked herself what Niko would do in a time like this. Willow knew that Niko's and Shane's relationship was built over years through working together, but the feeling that Willow was getting from the young man next to her… the feeling that was pushing her, telling her to do something instead of being the one who waited for the other person to act

"Umm..." said both Willow and Oz together as they turned and looked at each other.

Willow then gave a small smile and a chuckle when she realized they spoke at the same time.

"You first," said Willow as she nodded her head at Oz.

"Ladies first," said Oz.

"You're the one who said 'umm' first," said Willow as she raised an eyebrow, the butterflies in her stomach were starting to take off.

Oz then just smiled before nodding his head.

"I've seen you before," said Oz as Willow looked at him questioningly, "I was the one you crashed into a couple of months ago?"

"Oh, right," said Willow as she leaned in towards Oz, "I'm so sorry... I mean I should have recognized you and... I was in a hurry that day and late to class and... sometimes I'm a klutz, and… yeah."

"I saw you once at the bronze too," said Oz as Willow brushed some of her own hair behind her ear nervously, "I mean I wasn't stalking you or anything, just that I was there.. and you were there... and it's funny."

"Huh?" asked Willow.

"Two strangers meeting each other.. well, the second time I was just looking at you and.."

"In a non-stalkerish way, right?" asked Willow while a small smile, "I mean I don't mind if it was in a stalkerish way or, what I mean is that I.. I think I should shut up now. You see, when I get nervous I start to babble and when I babble it's hard for me to stop so please help me stop and..."

"No, I wasn't stalking you," said Oz as Willow chuckled and shook her head.

"So what were you doing watching me at the Bronze?" asked Willow as she leaned sideways on the back of the couch while looking at Oz, "do you work there, or.."

"I was in the band," said Oz as Willow sat straight up and opened her eyes wide at Oz.

"Really?" asked the redhead, "that's so cool; what's the name of your band."

"Dingo's ate my Baby," replied Oz.

"Oh that's even cooler," said the redhead, "the name, I mean."

'He's in a band!' thought Willow to herself excitedly.

"And you play the?" asked Willow.

"Guitar," replied Oz.

'He plays the guitar and he's in a band!' screamed Willow in her head while she was asking Oz if they were playing at the Bronze again anytime soon.

Oz could just look at Willow before nodding his head. It was at that time that the curtain at the entrance of the large room parted and Willow and Oz looked at a suited bald man walk into the room and nod at them; he then called for Oz to follow him to another room while Willow was asked to wait.

"See you around, Willow," replied Oz as the redhead smiled and nodded her head. Then, just after he left the room with the three men, Willow sighed and then flopped backward against the couch and smiled.

It would be soon after Willow's interview with the recruiter that she walked back to the large curtained off room where she and Oz were being kept in, and noticed that he had left. Frowning, Willow then walked back to the library with her books against her chest as she thought about the young man. It was at the library that Willow found that both Xander and Giles were talking with Buffy about a new threat that they had just discovered; that what the vampires had stolen from the mausoleum was a cross, and not just any cross; it was a cross created by a man named Du Lac that could be used to decode a book that was stolen from Giles' office in the library during the whole Ford debacle by one of Spike's minions and brought to the vampire himself, and Drusilla. Giles told the Scoobies that he still needed to read more about what the cross was going to be used for exactly and that they needed to start getting some research down.

Willow smiled when Buffy got up and told Giles, Xander, and Willow that they were much better with the research part of things and that she'd only be getting on the way. She then looked at Willow, who knew exactly why the blonde Slayer wanted to leave.

Her ice skating date with Angel now that school was officially over for the day.

"Yeah, Giles," said Willow, "Buffy's busy.. you know, she needs the rest and everything. You, me, and Xander can handle the research."

"Very well," replied Giles as he nodded his head at Buffy who then turned and squeezed Willow's hand before she ran out the library doors. Seeing her chance, Willow then turned back to Giles and told him that she'll be right back; that she needed to get some things done fast now that school was done for the day.

"But, Willow.. the research," said Giles as he nodded at the computer and the books, "whatever Spike and Drusilla have planned is bad for Buffy, and the rest of us. We need to start reading what we can.. researching what we can, and.."

"I'll get some donuts?" asked Willow as Giles perked up.

"Jelly donuts?"

"Uh huh," nodded Willow.

"Bear claw?" asked Xander as Willow nodded her head vigorously.

"Very well," said Giles as he fixed his glasses, "but do return as fast as humanly possible?"

"OK," said the redhead, as she prepared to move off, "I'll be back in about two hours, just some things that.. that I think I need to do."

"Willow?" asked Giles as he looked at the redhead with suspicion in his eyes, "what are you planning?"

"It's a surprise," said the redhead waving as she turned and ran, "be right back."

Dressed in her plain overall's Willow rushed out of the library and then went down the stairs. Soon she was at the area where she kept her bicycle and then unlocked the front wheel from the rack. Even though the school day was officially over; the students were still around for Career Week's various seminars. Once the bicycle was unlocked Willow cycled out of the school gates as fast as she could. The redhead had an idea that came to her that day at the end of her first class with Buffy, and Xander; Willow knew that she was ready to take things to the next level even though Giles asked her to take it slow, she had already gained a bit of mastery over her abilities, although her magic needed work and it was slow going… and Willow understood that. Instead, she resolved to not use magic until she had gotten a hold of it; but Willow also knew that the only way she could see if she improved any on her old self was to go up against a vampire on her own.

The redhead knew it was risky, but she needed to do this without Giles providing a crutch for her. The redhead knew that she needed to prepare; Willow was already confident that she was prepared for using her skills gained from Niko's experience and memories, but she needed to prepare a quick disguise that would not only hide who she was, but she also wanted something that would hide her scent from vampires.

'I can easily explain my main change,' thought Willow to herself as she cycled along as fast as she could for the next ten minutes until she reached a store on Main Street. She tried to do her best tough girl impression as she locked her bicycle on the light post outside the store, and then stood up and turned around, opening the door as a bell chimed and the she walked into the store. She heard the loud rock music coming from the speakers on the ceiling, and then looked at the men and women in leather jackets, jeans, and tattoo's of various types… at least, that was what they looked like to a plain looking, long haired girl in coveralls who started to walk around the walls looking at the leather jackets that were hung there for the customers to see. Willow had seen this place a few times on her way with Buffy to and from the Espresso Pump which was right across the street. The redhead knew that here was no way that Buffy or anyone she knew would be at the Espresso pump.. Especially not this early in the day.

Still Willow glanced out the window as her heart raced while hoping that no-one she knew could see her. Looking out the window, and looking at some of the clothes and jackets in the store, the redhead accidentally bumped into a tall, heavy muscled man who was looking at her… Willow could see his eyebrows were furrowed at her while he looked her up and down.

"Hi," squeaked Willow waving her hand at him.

"Ummm… I think you're in the wrong place," said the man as he smirked at the redhead while pointing at the store next door, "you're probably looking for…"

"I just came here because I wanted to make a change," said Willow as she looked at the hulking man and wondered that if he was a vampire, would she be able to take him, 'heck, I don't think I'll be able to take him even if he is human; what the hell am I doing? I'm nuts and… ok, Willow… just step back and leave. It's ok to just leave… maybe I'm not ready yet and.. oh… say something to the big biker looking guy who's looking back at you, Willow… come on... just say that you made a mistake and you were actually looking for the Gap.. yeah, The Gap.'

"I want to change my wardrobe," said Willow as she internally screamed, 'what the hell did I just say?'

"Change your wardrobe?" asked the man as he looked Willow up and down in her overalls before looking back up to her face, "how bad is your wardrobe? Please don't tell me it's as bad as this?"

"Fuzzy shirts, and more coveralls," said Willow with a smirk, the same smirk that Niko would give Shane or any of the other Rangers.

'Sometimes I hate Niko's memories,' thought Willow to herself as the man sighed, and then asked the redhead to follow him. He then called one of the female associates who worked there, and she was the one who helped Willow select two new shirts and black jeans. Willow was also eyeing a jacket that was hanging behind the counter; a jet black leather number that had two zipped up pocket on the side, and one zipper that went from one side of the waist to the top of her chest, just below the neck.

"So you're doing this for a guy?" asked the young woman who was helping Willow after the redhead said that she wanted to try the jacket out.

"That obvious?" asked the redhead as she tried on the jacket.

"Uh huh," came the reply as Willow looked at herself in the mirror, while at the same time she caught reflections of a few guys checking her out. The redhead then turned and told the young woman that she'll take the jacket, and then she needed to get back to the school.

"U.C. Sunnydale?" asked the woman as Willow paid the total in cash thanks to the money that both Ira and Sheila Rosenberg would send their daughter every two weeks whenever they were away for their jobs; which would be for the next two months. At hearing U.C. Sunnydale, Willow shook her head and said she was a junior at Sunnydale High and then looked over her shoulder at the two guys who were looking at her earlier suddenly just move away and started looking at some of the other clothes.

"Well," said the young woman behind the counter as she handed the redhead the bag of clothes, "knock your guy dead."

"I will," said Willow as she waved at the young woman and then turned and walked out of the shop. Once the door closed behind her after she was out in the open air, Willow took in a few deep breaths before she looked at the two bags in her hands. Giving a small smile, Willow then walked towards a small shop in the corner and then opened the door and entered it.

It was about forty minutes later that Willow walked out of the hairdresser's with her hair cut up to just above her shoulders; she knew that she'd be giving Giles, Buffy, and Xander heart attacks. Willow knew that she needed to get three more items, including something that would hide her scent from vampires; but that could be bought later that day. She knew that she needed to get back to the school to help Giles and the others do their research so she got back on her bicycle, cycled to the nearby donut shop, and got a box of donuts before she cycled back to her house.

After ten minutes of cycling, the redhead reached her home and then hurried inside. She closed the door behind her and placed the donut box on a side table near the door before Willow rushed up the stairs, and then headed into her room and closed the door behind her. The redhead took off her overalls, and then she looked at the mirror as she took off her shirt.

"What am I doing?" asked Willow as herself as she looked at her reflection, and then turned to look at her overalls and her T-Shirt that was laying on her bed while she stood in front of her mirror in her underwear, "Umm… I should… stop… come on, Willow… you can do it. It's not that embarrassing since nearly everyone should be doing their seminars by now.. and the hallways should be empty for another hour. You just get in when no-one's looking at you… show your friends that you've changed and… oh, screw it! Just take it slow.. stop all of this wanting to go out by yourself, Willow. You felt the fear when you were looking at that muscular guy in the store… taking on a vampire without supervision.. who the hell do you think you are?'

Willow shook her head as she sighed at her reflection. Despite all her bravado and confidence in thinking she could go out on her own, which led her to the mini shopping spree that just ended, Willow was suddenly wondering if she was doing the right thing in not at least telling Giles.

'Just tell Giles that I want to go up against vampires,' thought Willow to herself, 'he'll supervise and if anything happens to me, then he can take care of it. That would have been such an idiotic move… going out on my own. What if my training wasn't enough... I mean I know that what Niko did in Halloween was all super and all but what if I'm not ready yet and.. and yeah, Giles should be there. Yeah, I'll talk to him later.'

Willow then looked at the clothes she bought and she shook her head. She put those clothes away and put her shirt and overalls back on figuring that the short hair should be enough of a shock for now. She had thought about just wearing the new jeans she bought, and one of her shirts.. but decided against it at the last moment when she looked into the bags of clothes again.

She'd talk to Giles first.

'Maybe,' thought Willow to herself as she attached her overalls and then looked at herself in the mirror. She brushed the short hair away and smiled before taking a deep breath and then rushing out of the house.

"I wonder what the other guys are going to say?" said Willow to herself as she rode off on her bicycle with a box of donuts on her handlebars.

TBC.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sunnydale High School, 05:50p.m.**

Willow took in a deep breath as she locked her bicycle's front tire at the bike rack before she removed the bag of donuts from the handlebars. She then started to walk on the pavement in a hurry when she suddenly stopped with her eyes wide open as she had a sense of just going out of her body. She felt her hand holding the bag open, she felt the bag slip out, and then she felt a tingle going up and down her spine as she closed her eyes and saw a vision of Angel in full vampire made growling, following by a flash and then an image of a large stone surrounded by tables, then there was another flash and she saw what could only be described as a blue horned demon standing next to Spike and Drusilla. Then there was another flash of a stone demon with its mouth wide open as a vortex of some kind began to appear.

Then there was another flash and Willow suddenly found herself sprawled on the pavement. Shaking her head as she slowly got up to her feet, the redhead looked around at her surroundings and made sure that there was no one who saw what happened. Willow bent down and then picked up the bag of donuts before she took a step forward cautiously; she suddenly had a dizzy spell and she just stood still, closed her eyes and started some quick breathing exercises.

She knew what just happened; because the same thing happened to Niko when she was training her abilities with Ariel. However, there was one big problem.

'I'm not supposed to be able to do clairvoyance without the badge,' thought Willow to herself as she opened her eyes and took a few more breaths in before she started to walk towards the school, 'I should be clairvoyance free. Hell, I haven't even tried any magic spell to help this along… I trust Giles on waiting for someone to come and show me the ropes. But clairvoyance? It was more like limited... bits and pieces when Niko could get more with the badge. I don't understand… umm, maybe it's something to do with the Hellmouth? But I don't get it; I saw Angel all vamped out, Spike, the crazy Drusilla, and some blue horned and armoured demon. I have to tell Giles.'

Willow entered the school through one of the doors and rushed through the hallways hoping it would be empty. The redhead sighed in relief when she passed through the various hallways which were currently empty thanks to the various seminars that were taking place for Career Week. Approaching the double doors to the library, Willow stopped and took a deep breath before she pushed the doors open and nonchalantly walked in with the bag of donuts while Giles seemed to be berating Buffy.

"Hey, guys," said Willow as she stopped at the counter and waved at Giles, Buffy, and Xander who turned and quickly gasped while covering his mouth and pointing at the redhead. Willow glanced at Giles whose mouth hung open before looking at Buffy who looked at the redhead with her hands on her hips and head tilted with a smile on her lips.

"Who are you and what have you done with Willow," said Xander as the redhead walked towards the group and Giles fixed his glasses before he put a book down on the table and then took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Willow," said Giles as he looked up, "please don't tell me that you left just so that you could cut your hair?"

"Donuts, too," said Willow as she noticed the frown on Giles' face as she nervously pointed towards the bag of donuts. In the meantime, Buffy rushed over to Willow and placed her hand on the redhead's shoulder and asked if she met a guy.

"No she didn't," said Xander as Buffy frowned at the young man while Willow turned back and looked at Xander in mock horror.

"Xander," said Willow while Giles was pacing around the table as his face started to, unknown by the others, get redder by the minute, "are you saying that guy's don't find me attractive."

"Ouch," said Buffy as she wrapped her arm around Willow's arm and raised her eyebrow at Xander, "so, Xander, you saying my best friend isn't attractive?"

"Umm…" said Xander as he wished the ground would just swallow him before he rubbed his hands together in apology and then turned to Giles who was glaring at them with his hand on his waist, "Giles, some help here?"

"While your new hairstyle is a change," said Giles as Willow grinned at him, "there are much more evil threats than changing your hairstyle for a boy."

"I did it just for me," squeaked Willow before she opened her eyes wide and made a few jumps on her feet before she turned to look at Buffy. She excitedly asked the Slayer how her date with Angel went, before asking why she was back so early from her date with Angel.

"You knew about that too?" asked Xander as he sat down and took out a donut, and then bit into it, "the date part, I mean."

"Yeah," said Willow looking at Xander before she turned to face Buffy, "so, Buff? How was the date?"

"Oh you know…" said Buffy when Giles interrupted the both of them by slamming his hand onto a book that was resting on the table; an action which made Willow jump slightly while Buffy closed her eyes, and Xander looked away.

"What's going on?" asked Willow as she looked at Giles to closed his eyes and straightened up, taking a deep breath along the way, "is it Angel?"

"You mean is he his oh so great undead self?" asked Xander sarcastically while Willow and Buffy took their seats, "no change.. deadboy's still dead, but alive... so confusing being a vampire."

"But there was a slight hitch," said Buffy shaking her head at Xander.

"This is more than a slight hitch," said Giles who was trying to calm himself down, "Buffy was attacked by an assassin who was most likely sent by Spike. An assassin from a group known as the order of Teraka."

"O…k," said Willow as she looked at Giles, and then at the blonde Slayer, "they should be easy to take care of, right? Buffy?"

"The Order consists of several assassins," said Giles as he looked at Willow, and then at Buffy, followed by Xander, "both human and non-human. The fact that one of them attacked Buffy means that… that the Order will continue going after her. They won't stop, not until she's dead. Buffy can kill one of them.. but another one will take his, or hers, or it's place."

"You're just like Angel, Giles," said Buffy as she looked worried at Giles, "you really think that I should hide?"

"Yes," said Giles nodding his head while the Scoobies looked at each other surprised.

"Well," said Buffy as she crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm not hiding. I'm the Slayer, Giles. What's it gonna look like if I run? No, I'll stay and.. and we'll get Spike. Any idea on that book that was stolen?"

"Not yet," said Giles as she looked at Willow who sheepishly said that she'll stay overnight at the library and help Giles research.

"Now that we've got that settled?" asked Buffy as she looked at Willow, and then leaned forward with a grin on her face, "so, Will, who did you cut your hair for?"

"Yea," said Xander while Giles rolled his eyes before heading for his office.

"I.. I just wanted a change, you know?" said Willow, "I just had this thought and.. I mean I'd usually go 'no-way' to a big change like this but I figured it would be nice to have a little change. I mean it's a little change and nothing big, you know."

"You look adorable," said Buffy smiling at Willow as she leaned back into her seat, "alright then, let's figure out what we can about this Order of Karata."

"Taraka," said Willow.

"Same difference," replied the blonde as Willow chuckled, while Xander just looked at Willow's shorter hair, and then back at the book he was reading. The young man had known the redhead since they were in kindergarten, and he was aware that the Willow he knew would never do something so spontaneous. The only things he could think was that Willow's was possessed, but he immediately pushed that thought out of his head since he couldn't imagine Willow being possessed.

'Or she's into a guy?' thought Xander to himself as he read a book on the table, but unable to concentrate on the contents, 'that's not the Willow I know either. Maybe she did it to attract me? Ummm… maybe?'

Xander shook his head again before reaching for another bear claw as Giles walked out of his office with a pile of books and sat down across from the kids. As the hours passed by, Buffy and Xander had gone home while Willow was reading from another book and then looking at some translations she had found online. It was nearly twelve midnight when she sat back on her chair and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand before she stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

"Have you found something, Willow?" asked Giles as he walked into the library from his office while reading a book. The redhead saw that the older man's tie was loosened and his shirt disheveled as he sat down across from her and put the book he was reading down on the table while reaching for another one.

"Nothing, yet," said Willow, "I mean nothing too big, just something about the cross being super important… I mean I added the 'super' part; it's not in the translation."

"Yes," said Giles as he looked up and leaned back on his seat and looked at Willow, who had leaned forward again and was looking at the screen while using the mouse to scroll through a page, "Willow, is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"Umm…" said Willow as she leaned to her left and looked at Giles, "I.. I don't know what you mean, Giles."

"Your hair," said Giles as he leaned forward and put his hands on the table in front of him, "you suddenly have this epiphany about cutting your hair when we're supposed to do research, and.."

'I said I was sorry, Giles," replied Willow.

"I know," said Giles nodding his head, "why did you cut your hair? Was it really because of a boy, or was it because of Niko's influence? If it's the latter, then I have to urge you to control yourself unless you're willing to tell Buffy and Xander the truth; that you remember everything that happened during Halloween."

"I still want to keep it a secret," said Willow sighing.

"Then you have to be careful about the changes you make," said Giles, "I know it's a small detail, but leaving us when there is research to do is very unlike you. And for all his childishness, I wouldn't be surprised if Xander suspects something. As for Buffy? Well, she's excited you made a change and I doubt she'll look past the short hair until maybe after this whole Taraka nonsense is cleared up."

"I'll be careful," said Willow as she leaned back on her seat again and played with her fingers.

"Then there's the issue with Spike," said Giles as Willow looked at him, "his focus is back on Buffy since he believes you're powerless. But if he were to find out that he was tricked… then he would have been defeated twice by you. And if that happened, then you and Buffy would become targets for the Order of Taraka… so that's why you have to be very careful."

Willow knew that Giles was right; that with the Order of Taraka in Sunnydale, it would be suicide for her to trying anything stupid like going out on her own against vampires. Willow made the decision not to tell Giles about her plan, at least not yet… not while he was stressed out by this current situation with the Order of Taraka. However, there was something else that she needed to talk to Giles about.. something that she neglected to tell him due to her focusing on finding anything they could about the book that was stolen, and why Spike would need it.

"Umm… Giles," said Willow as Giles looked up from the book he was reading, "something I need to tell you... I mean I couldn't tell you earlier because Buffy and Xander were here, and then we had this whole Taraka thing and…"

"Willow, go on," said Giles, worried that the redhead would go on one of her babbles.

"Right," said the redhead shaking her head before she leaned forward and crossed her arms over one another on the table, "I think my clairvoyance worked… it that the way you say it? I mean…"

"Your clairvoyance?" asked Giles whose eyes widened, and then he took off his glasses while listening to Willow tell him about the vague flashes she had earlier that day. She told the stunned man that her visions were just flashes of images; that she saw Angel, Spike, a large stone among other things. Once Willow was done talking, Giles just continued to stare at her in surprise.. and it was up to the redhead to break the silence.

"Ummm… Giles?" asked Willow as she waved her hand.

"That's amazing," said Giles as he leaned back on his chair, "but I thought you said that the clairvoyance works only when you activate your implant using the badge?"

"That's what I thought too," said Willow, "I'm guessing that the Hellmouth did something? I mean I'm guessing that if I use the badge, then I'd get more details… but with it so low on its Alpha radiation charge, I don't wanna risk it until I can get a power source to recharge it. But even with the badge, it's a strain. Today, when the clairvoyance activated? I fainted from those images. I found myself on the ground when I woke up."

"You should have told me," said Giles with concern on his face.

"Buffy and Xander were here," said Willow.

"I still believe they should know, Willow," said Giles shaking his head at the redhead, "especially if this is a possible side-effect."

"I'll tell them if it happens again," said Willow nodding their heads, "maybe."

"Willow," said Giles frowning.

"I know how you feel about this," replied the redhead as she leaned forward, "but it's my secret… I mean it's something for me... you know? I don't want Buffy and Xander to be jealous."

"They won't be jealous, Willow," said Giles.

"They will be, you know they will be, Giles," said Willow with a frown on her face, "and that'll mean things are going to change and… and I don't want things to change too much, too quickly. I want this secret to stay... well, secret."

"Then how do you plan on helping Buffy?" asked Giles with an eyebrow raised as he leaned back on his chair.

"Well," smirked Willow, "I have an idea on that… but let's get this done first. But first, before I tell you my idea… you have to promise to keep an open mind."

"I…"

"An open mind, Giles," said Willow as Giles sighed, and then nodded his head.

"But we clear this mess with the Order before anything else," said Giles as Willow nodded, and then the both of them got back to their research with Willow mentally jumping up and down in excitement at the possibility of Giles accepting her crazy idea to go up against vampires on her own in disguise; with the watcher supervising, of course.

TBC.


	5. Chapter 5

**Willow's Dream.  
**

Willow put her arms up and created a shield that blocked the sword of the humanoid frog that was attacking her before she kicked out and hit the creature in its chest as it brought up its sword. She saw it stumble back as she heard more croaking noises from behind her as even more frog-like warriors in the distance were hopping towards her; frog warriors that had slimy green and brown blotched skin, along with webbed feet and arms, long flicking tongues that were used to attack the redhead as well, and those yellow-black eyes that looked at her.

"Ewww," said Willow as she ran as fast as she could from the race of frog people who were slowly catching up. Grabbing the energy shotgun on the left side of her hip, the redhead then turned around and raised the weapon before firing at the legions of frog people that were hopping towards her; some were hoping, and others were running with swords in their webbed hands. The redhead then fried her energy shotgun and killed a few of the creatures before she saw even more approaching from her left flank. Dropping her shotgun, the redhead ran to her right as fast as she could. Willow continued to run and run, all the while looking over her shoulders at the frog people gaining ground on her. Willow looked to her front again and saw that the ground in front of her a few feet away was missing.

She was on a cliff facing an ocean.

She reached the edge of the cliff and stopped while waving her arms to keep her balance so that she didn't fall into the waters below. Willow looked behind her and then gulped at the thousands of frog warriors coming towards her. The redhead then sighed and looked at the Ranger badge on her belt before she pressed down on it. She felt the radiation become absorbed by the Series five implant as she closed her hands into fists, at the same time she had a felt a surge of power going through her body. She lifted both her hands and fired rapid blasts of telekinetic energy that was supercharged by her implant at the frog warriors. She screamed as she swept the area in front of her with her blasts while at the same time she felt the amount of Alpha radiation from the badge that powered the implant get lower and lower until she stood alone, and depowered in firing a final smaller blast just as she collapsed on her knees and panted. She was sweating and panting while she looked in front of her at the thick dust which rose from the ground, that cleared after a few minutes, and shook her head at the thousands of dead frog-warrior bodies that lay on the grass.

The redhead slowly got up and took a step forward towards the bodies and away from the edge of the cliff when she felt the ground trembling. Narrowing her eyes, she crouched down and placed her hand on the ground; she then looked up with her eyes opened wide as she looked at the rising plumes of dust in the distance. She could hear the familiar sound of croaking coming closer and closer.

"Ummm…" said Willow when she heard swishing sounds from behind her.

Turning around, her face paled when she saw black dots rising out of the oceans and flying towards her. She could hear the hissing sounds from the dots, as well as the humming of their wings flying through the air as they headed towards the redhead.

"Flying tadpoles!" screamed Willow as she ran as fast as she could from the dots that rushed towards her. She was running from the frog warriors that were coming closer to her location as they croaked madly about the ones that the redhead had killed, and she was running away from the tadpoles that were flying towards her.

"Willow."

Willow could hear a voice in the distance as she ran; eventually, she was overtaken and then bitten by the flying tadpoles.

"Willow."

'Run, Willow, run,' thought the redhead to herself as the heard the familiar voice calling for her.

 **Sunnydale High library, 6:30 a.m; the next day.**

"Willow," said Giles as he poked the redhead's shoulder; the same redhead who was sleeping with her head on her arms which were folded over each other on the table. They had worked through the night, and eventually it was Willow who went to sleep first at around two in the morning. Deciding not to bother her, Giles was doing his own research on the Du Lac Cross in his office; research for which he still hasn't been able to sleep yet since the need was urgent to find as much information in the reasons why Spike and Drusilla needed the stolen book, and what they needed to decode with the cross.

While he was researching, he got a call from Xander asking if he had heard anything from Buffy to which he said that he didn't, and suggested that Xander should take Cordelia to the Summers home and get Buffy to school if the young man wasn't able to get her by phone. Once he finished talking to Xander, Giles stretched his arms over his head as he thought about the little progress he made on why the book was so important to Spike. He then got off his chair before heading out of his office, and towards the table in the library where he saw Willow sound asleep. He poked the redhead's arm a few times while calling her name again. When that didn't work, he shook her arm again a bit harder, and that was what woke up Willow with a start.

"The tadpoles are coming," said Willow with a start as she lifted her head and looked through groggy eyes at her surroundings and wondered where she was. It was when she saw Giles that she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands before she realized she was in the library not doing what she was supposed to be doing; helping with the research, "sorry Giles, I must have gone to sleep and…"

"It's quite alright," said Giles as he looked at the redhead, "the tadpoles are coming?"

"I have a fear of frogs," said Willow sheepishly as Giles smiled. He then told Willow to go home and freshen up for school. Willow nodded her head as she stood up and stretched herself before she asked Giles if he found anything.

"I had to go back to the Lutheran Index, Willow," said Giles as he rushed to his office to get the Lutheran Index before showing the worn out book to Willow, "and I found a description of the missing du Lac Manuscript. You know, the one that was with the cross that was stolen."

"Yeah," said Willow nodding her head.

"Anyway, it's a ritual, Willow," said Giles as the redhead frowned, "I haven't managed to decipher the exact details, but I believe the purpose is to restore a weak and sickly vampire to full health."

"Like Drusilla?" asked the redhead as Giles nodded his head, "and the Taraka guys were sent by Spike to keep Buffy busy."

"Yes," said Giles, "and if she gets to full health…"

"Two powerful vampires in Sunnydale," said Willow as Giles nodded his head; his face full of worry.

"The problem is that we only know it's a ritual," said Giles, "we don't know what happens during the ritual, or when it's supposed to happen. All we know is that…"

"It's happening," said the redhead.

"Precisely," said Giles as Willow frowned, "for right now, go home Willow. Freshen up, and we'll see you soon. Remember your exercise techniques for the mornings."

"I remember," said the redhead before she patted Giles on the shoulder and then ran as fast as she could out of the library, and then towards her bicycle.

 **Willow's Room, fifteen minutes later.**

Willow closed her room door behind her before she rushed to her windows and closed the curtains to her room; she didn't want to give the neighbours a free show. Once the room was in relative darkness, the redhead turned on her night light before she took off her jeans overalls and threw them on the bed. She then looked at her reflection in the mirror while she was wearing her striped T-shirt and briefs before she went to the closet and took out some dumbbells that Giles had helped her select soon after she started training. She placed them on the floor on either side of her before she started to jog in place while at the same time using her telekinesis, without being backed up by magic, to lift the weights that were enough to be equal to her own weight. While she was lifting the weights, Willow then went to do some push-ups and sit-ups, as well as some quick exercises that she knew Niko would do after she had to get up every morning.

It was nearly thirty minutes later that the redhead then went to take a quick shower before she walked out, and then looked into the bags of clothes she bought the previous day and wondered if she should at least just wear the tight jeans.

'Yeah,' thought Willow to herself, 'remember what Giles said, Willow. Take it easy. Just be normal, and remember these are for your disguise, not for everyday wear. Which reminds me, I need to get the vampire anti-scent thing… if the magic shop in town has it, and I need to get some goggles that I could tint, and a mask to cover my face. Ummm…. Maybe I should think of a really cool code name.'

Shaking her head and pushing those thoughts aside for the time being, Willow took out a fuzzy shirt and another pair of overall's before she hurriedly head out of her house; her empty house since her parents was currently teaching at UCLA for another month. Once she was ready, and with her book bag in the library, and her books in her locker, Willow just rushed down the stairs and out the door, locking the front door behind her, before she headed for her bike and cycled to school.

It was back at the library that Willow received a surprise; another Slayer by the name of Kendra arrived in town last night. It was something that stumped everyone, at least until it was Giles who realized that Buffy had died by drowning when she faced the Master the first time. He explained that it didn't matter how long she died, which made Kendra very suspicious that Buffy was still breathing, but the fact that she died… her heart stopped beating for even a few seconds.

"That was enough to call the next Slayer," said Giles in surprise, "this is extraordinary, nothing like this has ever happened before."

"Well," said Buffy after she pulled Kendra away from Willow when the new Slayer thought that Willow was just a 'civilian', which led to Giles explaining to the surprised Kendra that Buffy had friends who knew that she was a Slayer.

"And we help… you know, when we can," said Willow with a small smile while nodding her head as she sat down at the table. Now, Kendra stood by the counter as she told Giles and Buffy that she couldn't leave, that her watcher had sent her to Sunnydale because of an evil that was due to be rising very soon. Buffy then sarcastically asked Kendra what was her plan for beating this rising evil, and then she asked why it was that Kendra attacked her. Giles, Willow, and Buffy all looked at each other nervously when Kendra said that she saw Buffy kissing a vampire with Willow saying that the only vampire she'd kiss was Angel. It was then Kendra revealed that she believed Angel was evil since he was a vampire and that she had taken care of him.

"What did you do?" asked Buffy.

It wasn't too long before Buffy dragged Kendra out of the library and headed to Willie's bar where the second Slayer locked the ensouled vampire up in a cage, to be turned to dust in the morning once the sun hits him. Once the two of them left, Giles asked Willow to go to her classes while he called Kendra's Watcher and confirmed her story. The redhead then asked him if he heard from Xander yet, to which the librarian just shook his head saying that Xander was with Cordelia looking for Buffy.

"I believe he'll return soon, or call," said Giles as he looked at the concern n Willow's face, "he could already be here and in class and…"

"It's Xander," said Willow as she looked at Giles while smirking and tilted her head.

"I'll call his home," said Giles as Willow nodded her head and headed for class. Soon after class, Willow headed to the computer room where she waved at Miss Calendar before she took a seat at the farthest computer station. She went online and looked around the room discretely before she leaned back on her seat as the computer turned on and she used her telekinesis to disconnect all the camera's around the room while she typed on the keyboards. She ran a search for some of the additional things she needed for her planned alter-ego for which she still didn't have a code name. She remembered Nikos training with weapons and opened a page to a self-defence website and clicked on some collapsible batons. Willow looked around the lab to make sure that no-one was looking at her before she looked at the screen again and searched Sunnydale for places that would sell the things she needed.

And she found it at the Army surplus store, the same place that Xander said he bought his Army uniform… the same one he was wearing during Halloween. Willow looked at the items and decided that she could just get to the shop tomorrow and get the baton for her own self-defense. Willow then opened up another window on the screen when she looked up and noticed Miss Calendar getting off her chair and then walking towards her. The redhead calmly made a mental note of the website she wanted to go to before typing an address for the UCLA homepage while closing all the others.

"Willow?" asked Miss Calendar as she smiled at the redhead, before pointing at her own hair, "when did you cut your hair?"

"Yesterday," said Willow with a grin on her face as she put her hand through her hair, "you like? I thought I needed a change and... I mean I usually don't do anything out of the blue and this was something new for me so, yeah… there it is. Just something new, you know."

"Uh huh," said Miss Calendar as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the redhead, "and who's this boy you're doing this for?"

"I'm not," whined Willow as Miss Calendar then giggled before telling Willow that she was just joking. The redhead then smirked at the I.T. teacher before leaning forward and asking her if she recently talked to Giles.

"Not yet," said Miss Calendar as she patted Willow's shoulder while getting up, "it'll take time, Willow."

"You two look good together," said Willow as Miss Calendar chuckled before she headed back to the table where she told Willow that she'll be having a class coming in thirty minutes. Willow nodded her head at the teacher before she opened her previously closed windows and looked at the various types of tactical gear available. It was ten minutes later that she found what she was looking for, something that could hide her face; a full face balaclava that would only expose her eyes, something she could take care off as she searched for her next item… a pair of tinted goggles.

Smiling once she found everything she needed, Willow cleared her history and then turned off the computer before she got up and headed out of the computer lab after having said goodbye to Miss Calendar who was already telling the next class coming into the lab to take their seats. As Willow walked through the hallway she passed three people she had seen before, they were technicians from the school who were most likely sent to fix the camera's that had just got down in the computer lab. Willow was about to cross over to the next building via a colonnade when she saw Buffy, Giles, and Kendra walking through another hallway heading for her.

"Will," said Buffy as she waved.

"Hey, Buff," said the redhead, "did you find Angel?"

"Thanks to the rookie here," said Buffy as she looked at the newest Slayer who rolled her eyes, "Spike has Angel, and we still don't know anything about the ritual, or where they are."

The four of them continued to talk as they walked down the colonnade with Giles getting excited on the amount of knowledge that Kendra seemed to have on the Order of Taraka. While she left with Giles, Willow and Buffy headed to the school lounge so that she could attend one of the law enforcement seminars that Giles was asking her to go to since Principal Snyder was looking for her. Sighing Buffy and Willow entered the other building that they were headed to and entered the lounge where the blonde Slayer noticed an orange-haired young man looking at Willow from the seats at the lounge.

Excitedly, she put Willow so that her back was to the young man and she told the redhead not to look, but there was a guy checking her out.

"I knew you cut your hair for a guy," said Buffy as she looked over Willow's shoulder at the young man looking at Willow looked back over her shoulder, smiled and gave a little wave to the young man before she looked at Buffy, "I know that look, Will. He's the guy, right?"

"He's name's Oz," said Willow, "just a fellow computer nerd.. I mean he's you know… just showing solidarity with me and…. Oh God, he's cute. Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes," grinned Buffy as she looked over Willow's shoulder again and saw Oz getting up with a guitar case in his hand. Buffy then leaned in and whispered, "he's coming, so I'm gonna go for my thing… you know?"

"But, Buff," said Willow as Buffy smiled and stepped back before she rushed down the hallway. Willow could feel the butterflies in her stomach once again as she turned and faced Oz with Willow sensing that he was checking out her facial features, especially the new hair. The redhead suddenly got nervous as she looked back at the retreating form of Buffy before she looked at Oz once again and smiled while waving her hand.

"Hey," said Oz.

"Hey," said Willow with a small smile as Oz pointed at his own hair.

"You cut your hair, very nice," said Oz as Willow's face turned red while she smiled and nodded her head.

"So," said Oz as the both of them walked away from the lounge to the Career booths in the distance at the end of the hallway, "did you decide? Are you gonna become a corporate computer suit guy?"

"Ummm…, I think I'm going to have to finish high school first," said Willow with a small smile as she looked at the floor while walking slowly and then back up at Oz, "what about you?"

"I'm not really a computer person," said Oz shaking his head, "or a work of any kind person."

Willow looked on in surprise before asking Oz why it was that they chose him for the interview.

"I sort of test well," said Oz while shrugging his shoulders, "which is cool, except then it leads to jobs."

"Well, don't you have some ambition?" asked Willow curiously as she looked at the guitar player.

"Oh, yeah. E flat, diminished 9th," said Oz while Willow looked at him confused with her mouth open. Oz smiled at Willow's expression before he continued to tell her that, "the E flat's doable, but it's that diminished 9th . . . that's a man's chord. You could lose a finger."

Willow could only look at the young man next to her as he continued to talk while they were walking down the hallway. The redhead just chuckled at some of the things he said, while she nodded at some of the others. All the while she was thinking that there was something about the young man that reminded her of Shane Gooseman. She went through Niko's memories and came across a memory of the Rangers relaxing on another world during their day off with Shane playing the guitar. Willow shook her head and smiled at Oz when she realized she missed a question he had asked her.

"You look out of it," said Oz.

"Huh?" said Willow shaking her head, "no, I…"

Just as they reached the booth across the law enforcement booth, Willow heard Buffy shout.

"Get down!" said Buffy as everything went into slow motion. Willow heard the shot as she turned and saw the policewoman at the booth fire off rounds at Buffy, and then at the other students who were caught in the crossfire. Everything continued to go slow when Willow saw the weapon pointed as her just as she used her telekinesis to knock the gun out of the policewoman's hands; at the same time the gun jumped out of the policewoman's hands and clattered onto the floor, Oz dived towards Willow and pushed her down onto the floor. Things went back to normal speed as Willow looked up at Oz, who was laying on top of her, while the others were screaming just as even more shots rang out.

"You ok?" asked Oz.

"You saved me," smiled Willow as she heard Buffy punching and kicking the policewoman while Willow looked up at Oz before she shook her head and ask Oz to help her up. She crouched down with Oz and saw the other students taking cover before she peeked over the booth's table and saw Buffy struggling with the policewoman in the floor. Willow looked around and saw the gun on the floor previously, she concentrated on the gun and, just as the policewoman knocked Buffy away, the redhead used her telekinesis to pick up the gun and then mentally threw it at the side of the policewoman's head.

"Huh," said Oz who was crouched behind the booth with Willow and a few others as well, "nice."

"Wonder who did it?" whispered Willow as Buffy looked around her confused, as did the policewoman.

"Buffy! Look out!" shouted Willow as the policewoman, taking advantage of the confusion took out another gun and pointed it at the blonde Slayer. Buffy stepped to the side just the policewoman was about to shoot and Willow knocked the gun into the air as Buffy turned and kicked the police woman hard. The policewoman then took out a knife and rushed towards the Slayer as Buffy caught the woman's knife wielding arm, and then turned her around to Kendra who just arrived into the lounge after hearing the shots. Kendra saw Buffy spin that policewoman around so she made sure that she was at the right place to make sure that the last thing the woman saw was the newly called slayer's shoes before it impacted the policewoman's forehead.

"Nice," said Willow and Oz together as they watched the policewoman stumble backward dazed before the both of them looked at each other from their hiding spot and smiled. Both Willow and Oz then looked at the policewoman glaring at both Kendra and Buffy as she took out two knives that Willow, from her vantage point, ripped out of the hands of the policewoman, and made them clatter onto the floor. Willow saw the two Slayers look at each other confused while the policewoman took out a smaller gun while Willow rolled her eyes. The policewoman then grabbed a hostage and put the gun to the young man's chest.

"Hey, no," said Buffy as she and Kendra took a step forward just as the gun was ripped out of the policewoman's hands, and the young man being held hostage was pushed aside by an invisible force. The policewoman's hands were then spread apart to either side as Buffy and Kendra kicked her at the same time, and sent her flying out the door.

"That was interesting," said Kendra before she ran out the door while Buffy told everyone in the area that what just happened was an act put up by the Sunnydale Police Department.

"Huh," said Oz as he and Willow stood up while Buffy ran to the redhead, "interesting?"

"Will," said Buffy as she ran towards the redhead, "you ok?"

"Uh huh," said Willow before she motioned towards Oz, "Oz saved me."

"I didn't do anything," said Oz rubbing the back of his head nervously, "the gun didn't fire and…"

"Thank you," said Willow as she smiled at Oz before she looked at Buffy who told the redhead that they should go see Giles. Willow then told Oz that she had to go, and thanked him again for saving her life. Willow was hoping that he'd ask her out, or do something that would make them see each other again… but nothing happened, 'maybe he's just as nervous as me.'

"I'll see you around?" asked Oz.

"Ummm… Yea," said Willow as she nodded her head as Oz brushed his hand on her shoulder before walking away.

"Come on, Will," said Buffy as she held the redhead's hand while she looked at Oz leave. Willow turned and walked away with Buffy, occasionally looking behind her and seeing Oz looking over his shoulder as well. The both of them locked eyes and smiled before they went their separate ways.

'I'll see him again,' thought Willow to herself as Buffy was talking about the weird things that happened just now with the policewoman's guns and knives.

TBC.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sunnydale High Library, ten minutes after the shooting.**

Kendra, Willow, and Buffy headed pushed the double doors to the library open as they walked in hurriedly, with Giles concerned as he noticed the looks of fear on each of their faces. The three young women then told the Watcher about the shooting in the hallway, news of which after Giles finished listening, he asked if everyone was safe.

"Yea," said Buffy as she and Willow went to the table while Kendra stood at the counter with her hands behind her back as if she was waiting for more orders from Giles. In the meantime, she was hearing, and looking at, everything around her. Kendra listened to Buffy telling them, and soon confirming the Blonde Slayer's suspicions, that the policewoman could have been a member of the Order of Taraka that was sent to kill Buffy; a piece of information that sent Giles pacing on the floor as the group continued talking. Kendra listened to Buffy telling Giles that she would have been a goner if it weren't for Kendra, "and the weird stuff that kept on happening."

"What weird stuff?" asked Giles as he stopped pacing the floor as he looked at Buffy, and then at Kendra, and then at Buffy again, "what happened?"

"She'd take out a gun, or a knife," said Buffy as she looked at Giles, and then at Kendra who nodded her head, and back at Giles again, "and they'd just fall out of her hands. Even the first gun she fired at me fell on the floor, and then it hit her."

"It hit her?" asked Giles as he looked at Buffy, and then at Kendra who told him that she only arrived at the scene and helped Buffy after hearing the first few shots. She didn't see the gun hitting the policewoman on her head, but she did see the other guns and knives being thrown out of her hands by an unseen force.

"Buffy is correct," said Kendra as she looked at Giles, "it seemed as if there was another power at work."

"It was really weird, Giles," said Willow as she nodded her head, "knives, guns… all on the floor. It was weird, I'm glad that Buffy and Kendra are safe….. I mean from that crazy gun lady."

"Yes, of course… as am I," said Giles nodding his head as he looked away from Kendra, to Buffy. However, on the way to looking at his Slayer, the Watcher glanced over at Willow who looked back at him and gave a little smile. While Buffy continued talking to Giles who was fixing his glasses and looking at the blonde, it was Kendra who noticed the small exchange of looks between Willow and Giles. She saw Willow look back down at the table and give a small smile while Buffy was talking to Giles about how they needed to get Angel back, and then kill both Spike and Drusilla.

"Yes," said the Watcher while Kendra was looking at Willow. She didn't know the redhead; the fact was that Kendra didn't know any of them. She just respected Giles because of his status as a Watcher, and she was trained to respect a Watcher since they were much more knowledgeable than her.

She didn't know any of them, but she knew that Buffy was a Slayer… the same as her. The both of them were warriors. But the redhead didn't seem like anything to Kendra, she didn't seem to have special skills and in fact she was hiding behind a table with the other normal people. Kendra knew that in the world of a Slayer, there was to be a certain amount of expecting the unexpected but she couldn't imagine that Willow was the one who helped them.

'She would be most ineffective in the open,' thought Kendra to herself while she heard Buffy, Giles and Willow talking, 'but then again no one else stepped out of the shadows to help us. No, this Willow is too protected... perhaps Mr. Giles believes that she is the weakest among Buffy's so called friends. She was smiling since he cared about her safety as well… yes, that is it. This girl is no warrior; Mr. Giles is just glad to see her safe. Form what I have since in my short time with them, he is very protective of them both… he even wishes that Buffy be more like me.'

It was then that the doors to the library opened as Xander and Cordelia, whose clothes were wet, thundered into the library. Willow was the one who looked back and wondered what happened to the brunette young woman who had a look of disgust etched on her face. Then out of the corner of her eyes, the redhead noticed that Kendra was suddenly nervous as soon as Xander stood close to her at the counter and asked what happened out in the hallway. Seeing how nervous Kendra was, something which surprised both Buffy and Willow given how gung-ho the second Slayer normally would be ever since they met, the two best friends were about to answer when Xander noticed Kendra, and turned towards her and started flirting. In the meantime, Cordelia sat across from the redhead while she was still complaining about some 'worm guy' and her dress being soaked. Cordelia then noticed that she was being watched, so she looked up at Willow looking back at her before she looked back down at her dress and started to dry it by squeezing as much water as possible out of it. She had wanted to go to her locker to change, but it was Xander who insisted on seeing Giles before they do anything else.

"New haircut?" asked Cordelia as she was flapping and then squeezing her shirt to dry it out as quickly as possible. She then looked at Willow with an eyebrow raised.

"Yea," said the redhead, "I had a…"

"I don't need to know the story," said Cordelia as she put a hand up and looked away before asking Giles if it was safe to go back out there.

Willow smirked at the young woman as she talked to Giles before she turned to Xander who was ogling the newest Slayer; it was at that time that Giles had introduced Kendra to them as another Slayer who was called after Buffy's very, very short death. Willow wasn't sure if it was because her eyes were open for the first time, or if it was because of Niko's influence; but the redhead couldn't help but roll her eyes and then turn around when Xander attempted to flirt with Kendra again, and again.

Cordelia was the one who interrupted Xander's questioning of the shy Kendra, before telling the group that she and Xander had encountered one of the Order of Taraka's people at Buffy's house.

"You were at my house?" asked Buffy, "why?"

"If you'd answer your phone once in a…," said Cordelia when she noticed Willow was waving her hands, "what?"

"Ummm… Cordy," said Willow as she pointed at the young woman's shoulder, "Ummmm… eww."

"What?" asked Cordelia again as she looked at her shoulder and then screamed while at the same time she flicked away a long, fat worm that had dropped onto her shoulder. Once the dead worm landed on the table, both Willow, Buffy, and Cordelia got up from their seats and stepped back while Giles said "fascinating," and headed to the table where he looked down at the creature.

"You wanted to know what the guy that came after at Buffy's house looked like?" asked Xander as he pointed at the worm while Willow, Buffy, and Cordelia just shuddered, "well, there he is."

"Eww," said Buffy as she looked at Xander, and then back at the worm again, "ewww, at least tell me he's…. ewwww… I get wiggy even thinking about it.. anyway, please tell me he's gone and…"

"After the worms fell on Cordy?" asked Xander as Cordelia shuddered again in disgust as she recalled the thousands of worms that fell on her just as she and Xander were leaving the Summers house, "I think he's gone… I hope. But yea, that's him."

"You and bug people, Xander," said Buffy as she looked at him while Kendra still stood to one side nervously, "What's up with that?"

"But this dude was different than the praying-mantis lady," said Xander as he rubbed the back of his head while he was thinking of that particular unfortunate incident before shaking his head and coming back to the present, "he was a man of bugs, not a man who was a bug."

"O…k," said Willow, "and, huh?"

"I think the bugs literally make the man," said Xander as Buffy, Willow's, and Cordelia's faces twisted in disgust again while Kendra was looking down at the floor, trying to keep eye contact away from Xander who was occasionally glancing at her. It was a few seconds later that Giles told everyone that the most important thing was that everybody was safe and sound.

"Still, we seem to be under heavy attack," said Giles as he looked at everyone, "be on your guard. Now all of you get to class."

"And me, sir?" asked Kendra as she looked at Giles.

"Ah, yes… Kendra, if you would help me with completing my research. I seem to have found something interesting that bears a bit more study so if you would please.."

"Yes, I would like that," replied the second Slayer excitedly.

"Good," said Giles nodding at Kendra as Willow and the others got set to leave. Giles asked Kendra to wait in his office as the others walked towards the door. As Kendra headed for the back office, Giles walked over to Willow while Buffy and the others were preparing to leave the library and whispered "good job". Willow nodded her head and smiled before she ran towards Buffy and the others who were already at the library doors.

It was eight hours later that, when the Scoobies returned to the library, Giles gave the group the news that he and Kendra cracked the other keys to the ritual that was supposed to return Drusilla to perfect health. Buffy was about to ask what the other keys were when Kendra said that Spike needed Drusilla's sire, and that everything was supposed to happen at a church at the night of the new moon.

"Which is tonight," said Giles as he looked at everyone.

"Did you say Spike needed Drusilla's sire?" asked Buffy as she looked at Giles and then at Kendra with worry on her face.

"Yes," said Giles, as he noticed the worried look on the blonde Slayer's face and took off his glasses, "you know who sired her?"

"Angel," said Buffy as she grabbed the chair, "he's Drusilla's sire."

"Man, Angel got some major neck in his day," said Xander sarcastically as Willow slapped his arm while frowning.

"Sorry," said Xander as he looked at Willow who in turn nodded towards Buffy, silently telling him to watch what he says in front of Buffy since she was already upset. Things weren't helped at all by Kendra, who insisted that they needed to get to Drusilla, that Angel was secondary. Buffy and Willow stood up for the ensouled vampire while Xander reluctantly agreed that Angel was Buffy's friend. And his friend too, although he didn't like him. However, Willow understood why Kendra wanted to kill Drusilla instead of rescuing Angel… the both of them were vampires with Drusilla being the greater threat. While a part of her agreed with the newest Slayer, something that Willow herself couldn't believe, she also knew that Angel was her friend and wouldn't harm them. In fact, they had helped them, he had helped Buffy, so in her eyes… he needed to be rescued while Drusilla needed to be destroyed. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she noticed Buffy walking over to Kendra with her hands crossed over her chest.

"These Taraka guys can come after me if they want," said Buffy as she stepped up to Kendra, "but no way in hell are they messing with my boyfriend."

"Then the first thing we need to do is find this church," said Willow as she and the others got down to research.

 **Spike's Hideout, 8:30 pm.**

Spike ran into Drusilla's bedroom where Angel was tied up so that the crazy vampire could have some 'fun' with her. He had heard Angel's loud screams and was afraid that his girl would go too far in her 'games', and would end up killing Angel; the one being that they needed to restore Drusilla to her full glory.

"Dru!" shouted Spike as he rushed into the room to see Drusilla pouting at him while holding a large bottle of holy water. Spike glanced at Angel who was panting while smoke rose up from the scars on his chest, scars made when Drusilla tortured him with the holy water. Spike glared at Angel who was looking back at him, before the blonde vampire looked at Drusilla and gently put his hands on her cheeks.

"It's almost time, Dru," said Spike as Angel started to laugh. Spike looked at the ensouled vampire who started to mock him. Drusilla could sense that Spike was getting angrier by the second as Angel told him that he was the only one who knew how to tease Dru, that his hands were the only hands that had ever pleasured Dru. Drusilla smiled, she loved having two alpha males fight over her, and would have let them fight just for the fun of it if it hadn't been for the fact that Angel was in chains and Spike was about to run a stake through him in anger.

"Spike, no," said Dru when she gasped and doubled over while grabbing her head.

"Dru!" shouted Spike as he dropped the stake and ran to the woman, "what's wrong, love?"

"I see a figure covered in blackness… a dark figure with black eyes," said Drusilla as she looked up at Spike while wrapping her arms behind the back of his neck and grinned, "face hidden… scent hidden… we will fall, fall into the darkness to fire and screams. My dark prince, we will be lost."

"You're make no sense, Dru," said Spike as he kissed her in front of Angel, the ensouled vampire visibly disgusted at the show of what the two vampires in front of him called affection. Spike then pulled back and then looked at Angel, "and now, the time has come for the sire to give everything he is to save his creation."

"Yes," said Drusilla with a smile and then looked at Spike again, "it's time."

All the while, Drusilla couldn't help but remember the dark figure, and vortex behind her.

 **Abandoned Church, 9:00p.m.**

Willow knew she didn't do much.

With Buffy and Kendra holding onto Angel as they escaped, they had saved the ensouled vampire, and possibly killed both Spike and Drusilla. However, given the need to hide her abilities from Spike… Willow was forced to take on a 'waiting for the right opportunity' role.

It had only been fifteen minutes since she and the other Scoobies had burst into one of three abandoned churches in Sunnydale after Kendra ran back to the library after having left with Buffy earlier that night. She told them that she and Buffy had gone to see Willie the snitch, and they had gotten a location for where Spike was holding Angel.

They had followed Kendra who had leapt out of Giles' car immediately after stopping. She was then followed by Giles himself who was carrying a crossbow, and then Willow to whom Giles had whispered that she shouldn't use her powers in front of Spike, and finally behind the two of them were Xander and Cordelia… with the young man holding a can of sticky paint that was meant for the one he affectionately referred to as worm guy.

The right opportunity came after Kendra had burst into the church and started to attack Spike. Seeing that the vampire was distracted with fighting both Kendra and Buffy, Willow glanced around and saw a knife that was stabbed through both Drusilla and Angel's hands. The redhead could see a magical transfer of energy thanks to a glow around their hands… a glow that the others could see as well. The first thing she did was telekinetically take out the knife and let it fall to the floor before she was called by Giles. Frowning, Willow rushed towards a vampire that was beating on Giles, she then jumped onto his back and held an arm around the vampire's throat while she reached out with the other hand. Giles threw the stake towards the redhead who was holding on for dear life while using a burst of her telekinesis to grab the stake and bring it to her hand.

"Huh," said the surprised vampire as he stopped moving and looked at the stake that had just flown to Willow's hand before she pushed the pointed end into the vampire's chest. Willow wasn't ready for the resultant dusting as she fell onto the floor, the stake having also been dusted. Giles helped the redhead stand up and told her to be more careful before he looked around, and then looked at the redhead once again.

"What if Spike had seen you?" whispered Giles at Willow, while Kendra kicked the former policewoman into a wall, before the old woman fell unconscious with a whole side wall falling onto her.

Willow told Giles that she'd be careful, but she can't help being a Ranger when her friends are in trouble.

"Or anyone else, Giles," said Willow when they looked at a screaming Spike who threw Buffy off him and rushed to Drusilla. Willow was about to fire off a telekinetic attack when a vampire pushed aside Giles and headed towards the redhead. She stepped back while looking around for any wood while remaining out of Spike's sight, as well as the sight of her friends. Looking around, Willow found Kendra who was already running towards her with a stake in her hand. Willow then turned to the vampire who was about to punch her face, so she ducked while Kendra went over her head and punched the vampire… making him step back. Willow then stood up and rushed to Giles, helping him to his feet while Kendra slayed that particular vampire.. and then headed to Willow and Giles.

"Are you alright, sir," said Kendra as he helped up Giles as well, the older man nodding his head before Kendra looked at Willow, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," said Willow before she looked back at Buffy screaming at Spike. Willow, Giles, and Kendra saw Spike knocking Buffy away before he went to pick up Drusilla in his arms. Willow knew that with everyone watching, she shouldn't do anything… but she didn't have to as Buffy got up and then threw something to the back of Spike's head that made him and Drusilla crash into the large organ at the back of the burning room they were in. Buffy then headed to help Angel, as did Kendra, just as Xander and Cordelia rushed into the burning room after Spike threw a torch at Buffy's head earlier that missed and hit some curtains.

As they rushed out of the church, Xander and Cordelia were talking about how they killed the 'worm guy', while Buffy was talking to Angel… telling him that everything was going to be alright. All Willow could do was look at Giles, who looked back at her before nodding his head... indicating that she did a good job.

However, Willow knew she didn't do anything; at least nothing of lasting consequence. The Ranger in her knew that there was something wrong, that they never saw Spike's body… but with the flames rising in the room, they had no choice but to leave. Willow wanted to do more to help Buffy, but she couldn't do it out in the open for fear that Spike would know it's her.

So, to Willow.. she didn't do much this time.

And she wanted things to change.

 **Sunnydale Army Surplus Store, 4:00 p.m.; the next day.**

AS Willow opened the door to the Army Surplus store, she found that the place was devoid of people, very unlike the shop where she had bought her leather jacket, shirts, and jeans. However, there was only a large man sitting behind a counter reading a gun magazine. Willow looked around the store from the entrance, and then looked and smiled at the man who looked at her for a moment before he looked back down at the magazine he was reading. The young woman shrugged before she walked into the store and headed towards the man behind the counter; Willow kept on telling herself during the entire time she was cycling here from Sunnydale High that this was it…. If she got the stuff she needed to get from here, then there was no turning back. Willow put her hands on the counter and smiled before clearing her throat. It was something that made the man look back up at her with a knitted brow; the redhead could tell he was wondering why there was a slim redheaded girl in his store.

"Hi," said Willow sweetly as she waved at the man before she reached into her pockets and took out a list of things she needed. With Willow doing everything she could to prevent her hands from trembling, she handed the list to the man who looked at it, and then looked up at the young woman who was smiling at him, and then he looked back down at the list just to make sure that he was reading it right.

"Young lady," said the man finally as he looked at the redhead, and then placed the piece of paper on the counter, "is this a joke? I think you're in the wrong store and…"

"No," said Willow as she shook her head and started to babble, "no joke. I mean I'm not joking… you see a friend of mine got some stuff from here for his Halloween costume and I was afraid to get a Halloween costume like him. Instead I went as a ghost for Halloween because I didn't think I'd look good in a uniform. And so he dared me to wear an uniform with all the fixin's for next Halloween, so I thought what the hell, I'll get it now or else I'll chicken out. Well, everything's for the costume except the baton and the pepper-spray… those are for self-defence."

Willow stopped her babbling and panted while the man just looked at her with an eyebrow raised; amazed that she didn't even take a single breath during that whole time.

"So, you're getting this get-up for next Halloween," said the man as he looked at the list again, and then at the smiling face of the young woman in front of him, "you do realize that the baton you want is dangerous and…."

"I've been getting private training on how to use it," said Willow as she looked at the glass counter and pointed at the one she had seen online, "I can prove it to you that I know how to use it. And…"

The man frowned before he reached into the case and took out the sheathed baton, before handing it to Willow. The redhead took it into her hands before looking at it, and then at the man. Willow smiled as she took out the baton and gripped the rubber handle while she recalled Niko's Ranger training. She may not have been able to do this two months ago, but Willow had been training ever since Halloween; training diligently. Enough that she could have telekinetically grabbed the weapon the Policewoman used the previous day during the shooting in the School, and then shoot the woman in the shoulder. Willow had been training every day the same way Niko did, combined with the exercises that Giles told her to do.

Willow stepped back while the sheathe was on the counter and the retracted baton in her hand. She then flicked her wrist, and extended the weapon before the man showed her to a dummy. Willow followed Niko's moves perfectly as she hit the dummy while the man nodded his head. He asked Willow if she had even been to the Police Academy because some of the moves she performed were similar to the training received by law enforcement officials.

"I have a distant aunt who's a police officer," said Willow as she retracted the baton and they walked back to the counter, "you know how Sunnydale is with all these gangs; she taught me how to defend myself."

All the while she was walking to the counter while talking to the man, the redhead was jumping up and down on the inside; she was excited that she manged to do what she just did without dropping the baton. The truth was that she was terrified. It had been the first time she used a baton, but Niko's training had kicked in and it felt to her as if she knew what she had to do; it felt as if she had done it her entire life.

The man, who revealed himself to be a former LAPD officer, helped the redhead look for a set of black boots, gloves, two sets of the exact same balaclava that covered her head, mouth, nose and neck, as well as two black tank tops. She asked the man if he carried goggles that were tinted red. The man shook his head before saying that he only had goggles that were tinted grey… a grey that looked black at night. Willow clapped while telling that man she was going to scare her friend next year; and at the same time she was going to win the bet. Laughing, the man then helped cash out the redhead, before wishing her good luck for next year.

 **The Rosenberg Residence, 11:00 pm.**

Willow had excitedly finished her homework before she floated back down onto the bed, and then kept away her books and puzzle pieces. She rushed to her closet and took out the bags of clothes and the equipment she bought earlier that day. Willow then chuckled as she took out the Jeans and the jacket, and put them on the bed. She decided not to use the shirts she bought, instead she decided those would be part of her everyday wear, instead, she took out one of the tank-tops and put it on the bed alongside the other equipment.

Smiling, she then took off her clothes until she was in her underwear. The redhead's hands were trembling while she put on her tank-top while mentally telling herself that she was ready for this, that she'll take it slow.. but this was something she needed to do. She had these abilities and she wanted to use them in the open to help people; she wanted to be a Ranger.

She then put on the tight jeans, and chuckled as she turned around and looked at herself in the mirror while wondering what would Oz, or even Xander would say if they saw her in what she was wearing.

"Xander will still prefer Buffy,' though Willow to herself as she smiled and sat of the bed while putting her socks and then the boots. She then stood up and put on the belt that the man at the store had recommended to make the 'costume' complete. Willow hung the sheathed baton on the belt, on her right hip… with the pepper spray on the other side. The red head then put on her Balaclava and smiled under the cotton as it covered her face, and neck with only her eyes visible. She then put on the jacket and then zipped it up to her neck, followed by the gloves and then the grey tinted goggles which hid her eyes. The only thing missing was something that would hide her scent, but where she was going…. Willow knew that Spike wouldn't be there… at least she'd make sure that Spike wasn't there before doing anything.

'And how am I gonna get there?' thought Willow to herself as she looked at the mirror and smiled under the black material covering her head. The redhead looked down at her feet as she started to telekinetically lift herself up and down as few times, before she hovered off the floor. She then floated to the light switch and turned the lights off in her room before she landed back on the floor and walked over to the curtains. With the lights off, and the redhead dressed on an all-black outfit; it was difficult for anyone to notice her leaving out her window which faced the backyard. Willow then stood on the section of the roof outside her window before she carefully turned around and pulled her window down, before telekinetically locking the window shut. Willow then stooped low before she turned and looked up at the sky.

"Please let this work," thought Willow as she, in a smooth motion, jumped upwards while pushing herself using her telekinesis and then wrapping it around her body. The redhead silently screamed as she rose higher into the air, her bode propelling itself using her telekinesis until she just stopped moving. The redhead then just hovered in the air as she turned and looked around at the lights of the city all around her. It was then that she found out something that even she didn't know about herself.

"I think I'm afraid of heights," said Willow as she closed her eyes, "crap."

TBC.


	7. Chapter 7

**Above the Rosenberg residence, 11:10 pm.**

Willow was breathing hard while she was hovering several meters above her house. She kept her eyes closed shut while she rolled her hands into fists while they were at her side, and at the same time, she kept her concentration, therefore, holding her body aloft. She didn't want to panic and let the dizzy feelings she was experiencing overtake her, and possibly resulting in her falling to the ground and breaking something… or worse.

'Keep your concentration, Willow,' thought the redhead to herself as she felt herself swaying from one side to another because of a light breeze that rushed past her; the redhead automatically compensating so that she remained hovering in the same spot. Willow told herself that this was what Niko's zero-gravity training must have been like.

'If she could do it, so could I' was the prevailing thought in Willow's mind, but then again she would have to become used to the new fact that she was afraid of heights while thinking to herself, 'open your eyes, come on Willow… open your eyes. What would Giles say if you just quit, and you know how would be ridiculous to have to cycle somewhere in this so cool get-up. So, open your eyes, and just don't look down, just check out the view.'

Taking a deep breath, and then breathing out slowly; Willow opened her eyes and looked at the lights in the distance. There was something at the back of her mind telling her to look down, that she needed to look down, but she refused to follow that order. Then there was another gust of wind that moved her to the left, and she concentrated so that she wouldn't go too far off course… the redhead imagined her telekinesis propelling her the opposite way she was moving while continuing to keep her balance. It was then that Willow realized something else, she was slowly getting a headache.

'Probably since I'm so high up,' thought Willow to herself as she spun vertically in the air so that she could see all around her, 'at first, I was just floating a few inches off my bed, but now I'm meters up over my house; gravity's pulling me back down... but my powers are keeping me up. Gotta get used to it though.'

Taking another deep breath while she used her telekinesis and angled her body forty-five-degrees, Willow continued looking straight ahead as she slowly propelled her body forward. It was a few seconds later that she was moving at a fast speed, but the wind was buffeting her, and her headache was getting worse due to the drag created by the way she angled her body. With determination on her face, Willow angled her body to ninety degrees while she kept her head facing up towards her front she didn't want to look down, at least not yet. With the pain in her head slowly decreasing due to the way she was propelling herself through the air, Willow was chuckling as the wind brushed against her jacket, and a bit of her skin. Willow tried to contain her joy while she was flying through the air as she sped through her neighbourhood before hitting the city limits, and then flying towards the buildings in the business district itself. As she flew circles over the city for twenty minutes, the redhead closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them once again from behind her goggles.

She didn't want to be afraid.

That's what she kept on thinking to herself as she flew, one part of her was telling her to just keep on looking at her front, and that it would be better if she angled upwards slightly. But the other part of the redhead was telling her that she needed to stop being afraid, that she needed to slowly conquer her fears if she wanted to be a Ranger.

'You must choose,' the redhead smiled as she thought about what Ariel would tell Niko when she was unsure of something after comparing the pro's and cons.

'I... I don't wanna be afraid... well, not so much,' thought Willow to herself as she slowly looked down at the buildings, the cars, the lights, and some people who whizzed by at the fast rate of speed that she was going.

And then Willow laughed.

However, unknown to her, the redhead was reducing her altitude while she was laughing as she flew. She looked around at the last moment and she noticed that she was getting closer to the roofs of the buildings in the city, so she concentrated and pulled up into the air. Smiling behind the mask, the redhead used her telekinesis to perform a roll before she headed back down towards the buildings below.

Now she wanted to try landing, so she angled down towards a building, and then imagined what she needed to do. When she was close enough to the roof, the redhead angled her body upwards before lowering herself down slowly. Once her feet had touched the ground, Willow's headaches were gone as she jumped up and down in excitement.

'I flew…. Baby, I flew!' thought Willow as she grinned under the balaclava while she punched the air. She wondered what it would be like if she used the badge when she managed to get it to full charge, but for now, she was flying with her own telekinetic abilities. Smiling to herself, she wanted to get to Buffy.. she knew where the Slayer was going to be patrolling with Giles by her side. Willow wanted to prove to the Watcher that she was ready; and if she could conquer her fear of heights, or at least, she was starting to conquer her fear of heights, then the redhead could do anything. Smiling to herself, Willow jumped and pushed off using her telekinesis again.. but this time, nothing happened. Instead, she landed back onto the roof after having jumped up only a few inches when she suddenly grabbed her head and silently screamed because of the spike that she felt was being pushed into her brain. Willow fell onto her side on the floor of the roof she was on, and her body writhed as she rolled around in pain.

'Oh God, It hurts,' thought Willow to herself while she gritted her teeth as the pain reached a crescendo before it finally stopped. Willow, who was now lying on her back, put her hands by her side as she panted before closing her eyes, and let the darkness take over.

It was nearly thirty minutes later that Willow opened her eyes and found herself looking up at the stars before she slowly sat up. The redhead wondered what had just happened as she slowly got to her feet while she shook her head, and tried to regain her bearings. Once her legs weren't trembling, Willow tried to jump up again and use her telekinesis and, this time, she floated in the air for a while before she slowly put herself back down onto the floor.

'I was flying for, what? Nearly twenty minutes? A bit more?' thought Willow to herself as she felt herself sweating through the balaclava. So she pulled back her goggles to the top on her head, and then pulled the front of her headgear to her chin and wiped her brow, 'maybe I can't handle flying for that long? It could take me some time to get used to it… but I'm guessing I can't fly for more than twenty or thirty minutes continuously. Damn, that hurt my head. Luckily Buffy shouldn't be too far away… heck, even if she and Giles aren't there, I could try my hand against a vampire. Or should I wait and... no... stop it. I know that I can handle one on my own. I have to try at least. If I fail, just get out of there.. just fly away.'

Willow nodded her head before she pulled the front of her balaclava up until it fit snugly just over her nose, and then she pulled down her goggles. Keeping in mind about what just happened, Willow jumped up and flew towards the cemetery.

 **Green Woods Cemetery, 11:45 p.m.**

"Watch out, Buffy," asked Giles as he sat on a headstone calmly and watched Buffy kick at a vampire; a kick that knocked the demon over a headstone before she reached into her jacket and then crouched down. She then punched the newly arisen vampire, and then staked him before standing up. As the creature turned to dust, Buffy turned around and walked towards Giles while putting the stake back under her jacket. Giles got off the headstone he was sitting on, and then walked with his Slayer towards another part of the cemetery.

"So did Kendra make it back to Jamaica?" asked Buffy as she looked at Giles who nodded his head.

"Yes, I've already spoken with Mr. Zabuto and he's informed me that Kendra is at home. Well, she is staying with him at his home," said Giles.

"Can't imagine being taken away from mom at Kendra's age," said Buffy as they walked on the grass, the air was still all around them with no wind going through the trees. Buffy scanned the surrounding area with her eyes while they continued to walk before she looked down at the grass when she spotted a small rock. She kicked it as Giles was telling her that Zabuto was a good man, but his thinking was that of a traditional Watcher.

"The Council would take children, Potential Slayers, if they could find them early enough from the parents and then hand them to a Watcher," said Giles as Buffy looked at him with her mouth open in surprise, "some of the family members would see it as a great honor while others.. well, they would have no say. Ultimately, the children would still be taken if they could be found early enough."

"Would they have taken me?" asked Buffy.

"If they found you early enough?" asked Giles as he looked at Buffy, "then yes, they would have taken you. I don't doubt it."

"That sucks," said Buffy as she twirled the stake in her hand, "I guess I'm the lucky one."

"Have you talked to Angel?" asked Giles who wanted to change the topic. It was then that looked up at the sky when he thought he saw something moving above him. Looking at the night sky, he squinted his eyes and search the darkness before he looked down at Buffy once again. Giles frowned and walked toward the Slayer who continued to walk, and talk, all the while oblivious to the fact that Giles wasn't at her side. The Watcher rushed to her side before she stopped talking and looked at the man confused.

"Did you hear what I just said?" asked Buffy.

"Sorry," said Giles as he looked up at the night sky, the half-moon being covered by clouds, and then he looked back down at Buffy, "I thought I saw something... maybe it was a bat. So, you were talking about Angel?"

"Yea," said Buffy nodding her head as they continued to walk again, "he's getting with the Order of Teraka's guys and telling them that the contract on me is over since Spike's dead... well, at least, we think he's dead."

"I did go back to the church and found nothing," said Giles, "we could assume that he and Drusilla were killed, or… well, I dread to think of the alternative. But I feel that if Spike were still alive, then he would come after us immediately in revenge… and since he hasn't."

"We assume he's dust them, or at least unable to talk... or something," said Buffy nodding her head as she raised her hands up, "I can take that. Two crazy vamps are gone, and now just the good old regular vampires, regular demons, and apocalypses."

"Indeed," said Giles as he fixed his glass when Buffy suddenly stopped and turned to her left to see a large mausoleum. She looked over her shoulder at Giles and put her finger to her lips, indicating to Giles that he should be quiet; and then she pointed at the mausoleum before whispering that she thought she saw shadows moving behind the door that was slightly ajar. She took out her stake while Giles reached into his jacket and took out another stake with his right hand. He was behind Buffy as they approached the door; and once they had gotten closer, he saw Buffy take a deep breath before she kicked the door open and stepped inside the doorway to see a nest of vampires who seemed to have finished feeding on a young man, and a woman by candlelight. The flames flickering against the wall, the same flames that caused the shadow earlier that Buffy had seen from the outside.

"Hey," said Buffy with a smirk as the group of five vampires looked up at her and growled, "I'm from the city… you know… here collecting rent and, you guys are so overdue."

The vampires growled as they rushed towards Buffy and Giles who stepped back out into the open since the mausoleum had no room for the Slayer to maneuver. Buffy ducked and then staked the first vampire, who turned to dust.. but before she knew it, the second vampire behind the one that was just dusted used the first one as a screen to punch the blonde Slayer. Buffy stumbled back while she grinned at the one that just hit her. She then went and punched the vampire, throwing him into the one behind him while two other vampires went after Giles. She saw out of the corner of her eyes that one of the vampires had pushed Giles into the second vamp that had gone after him. However, that distraction earned her a punch in the abdomen before she spun around and swept the legs of the vampire attacking her from under his feet. When he was on his back, Buffy staked him just as Giles headbutted the vampire who was holding on to him from behind, before turning around and staking him. However, the other vampire that was behind him slammed a back fist to the side of his head, and the Watcher fell to the ground and dropped his stake.

"Giles!" shouted Buffy as she punched the vampire, who managed to block the punch, and then kicked out at the Slayer. In the meantime, Giles was groaning on the ground as he tried to get up, he could hear Buffy fighting her own vampire... a vampire who seemed to be the Alpha of the nest since he was giving Buffy a harder time than the others. The Watcher, whose vision was blurry from that hit he took to the side of his head tried to get up. As he was getting up, he could see the second to last vampire, the same one who back fisted him, rushing towards him when he was suddenly thrown to his left; slamming onto the ground as if he was hit by an invisible wall. Confused, Giles slowly got up just as he saw someone, or something, land close to him before rushing towards him. Giles saw the figure help him up, and it was then the older man managed to get a look at the grey goggles, the balaclava, and then the jacket, and he then looked back up at the goggles.

"You are kidding me," whispered Giles with a frown at the figure.

He swore he could see a smile under the face covering. However, before he could say anything else to the figure, he noticed movement over the figures shoulder and said, 'look out'. He then saw the figure turn around and then telekinetically hit the vampire in his abdomen, an action that made him step back. Giles then saw the dark clothed figure, someone who was a woman given the figure, punch, and then kick the vampire… making him step back again before she gave him a headbutt that made the vampire grab his head in pain. Giles then saw the figure in black reach out her hand at Giles, just as Buffy dusted her alpha vampire; Giles felt the stake leave his hand as Buffy turned around to see what happened next. The stake flew to the dark figure who then grabbed it in mid-air before turning towards the vampire who growled at her. She then rushed the vampire while telekinetically punching him before she connected a kick to the side of his head. Buffy and Giles then watched the figure punch the vampire one more time with her fist before staking him.

Giles and Buffy saw the figure panting as the vampire turned to dust before the figure looked at Buffy who was looking at the figure, and then at Giles and then at the figure again. Buffy could tell from the body type that whoever was under that mask was a female, and she was about to say something when the figure threw the stake over at the blonde Slayer.

"Umm… thanks?" asked Buffy as she looked at the stake, and then at the figure who tilted her head at the blonde, "ok… this is getting a bit ridiculous. You do know that all of this is…"

Buffy opened her mouth wide, as did Giles when the figure looked up at the sky and then flew away into the night.

"Uh," said a speechless Buffy who looked at the sky, and then at Giles, and then back at the sky again.

"Flight," said Giles as he searched the sky for the figure whose costume had blended her into the darkness, he knew exactly who it was underneath that balaclava... and he was going to have a few words with Willow tomorrow. However, the Watcher couldn't help but smile a little as he looked up into the sky when he realized the real reason why Willow had cut her hair.

"Uh huh," said Buffy shaking her head as she walked towards the older man, "oh, Willow and Xander have got to hear about this."

"I can't wait to hear what they have to say about this new… person," said Giles.

"Yeah," said Buffy, "tomorrow's gonna be fun."

"Indeed," said Giles as he fixed his glasses, "I say we've had enough of the unexpected for tonight, I'll drop you home."

"Cool," said Buffy as she looked at Giles, and then at the sky again, "flying.. that's new."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Sunnydale High, 0830 hours.**

Willow met up with Xander, who had skateboarded into the school, at the entrance while leaning against the railing at the staircase. She gave the young man a wide grin as he grabbed onto the same railing after he stopped and then picked up his board, and leaned on the railing next to the redhead.

"Will," he said, "I need your help with the math thing."

"Which math thing?" asked Willow as she racked her brain to think about any test that she may have forgotten about, "we have a test today? Pop Quiz? Or…."

"Oh God I hope not," said Xander as he looked at Willow, "I mean… I just need some help with that algebra thing we have due tomorrow."

"Oh," said Willow shaking her head while sighing, "yea, sure…. At the library after school?"

"Uh huh," said Xander as Willow smiled and nodded her head just as a black jeep stopped in front of them, and a certain blonde Slayer walked out. Buffy, and then Willow and Xander waved at Joyce before she drove off; and then Buffy turned around and told the both of them that they wouldn't believe what happened the previous night on her patrol.

"Nothing bad?" asked Willow worriedly, while inside she knew exactly what Buffy was going to be talking about, "please don't tell me that Spike's…"

"No," said Buffy as she shook her head while the three of them headed towards the school entrance, "not him… this is something different."

"Don't let us be in suspense, Buffster," said Xander as Willow vigorously nodded her head.

"There were the usual vampires," said Buffy as they headed into the building, and then turned left for their lockers, "but Giles and I found a nest of vamps and…. And I mean we fought them off. And, Well, we had a bit of help… a new… I don't know."

"A new Slayer?" asked Xander as Buffy and Willow looked at him and frowned. Xander then shrugged his shoulders and told them that he wouldn't be surprised if there were three Slayers, "things are that crazy."

"Buff?" asked Willow curiously, "is Xander right? A new Slayer?"

"No," said Buffy shaking her head as she headed to her locker and then opened it. She looked at Willow and Xander opening their lockers while she talked to them about the mysterious figure from last night decked out all in black with the ability to fly, and what Giles had told her could be telekinesis.

"No, way," said Xander excitedly as he closed his locker door and looked at Buffy with his eyes wide open, "fly as in…? Wait, is this a guy or a girl?"

"Girl," said Buffy, "wearing a leather jacket, boots, and some seriously tight jeans."

"Oh, really?" asked Xander while he waggled his eyebrows and rubbed his chin. Willow closed her locker door, and then looked at the expression on Xander's face and chuckled.

"What?" asked Willow as she looked at her oldest friend who looked back at her; the redhead couldn't help but wonder what Xander was thinking…. But then she decided asking against it since she knew the young man, and what his thoughts were going to be, "you falling for this mysterious flying… what she call herself?"

Willow then turned to Buffy when she asked the last part of her question, and was just met with a shrug. They continued walking towards their homeroom while Buffy said that the figure didn't say a word, that she didn't even tell them her name.

"She dusted a vamp, threw me Giles stake, and then flew away," said Buffy shrugging her shoulders.

"So…" said Xander as he nudged Buffy while walking next to Willow who was carrying some of her books in her hands, "you're saying that she's wearing tight jeans, black?"

"Uh huh?" said Buffy as Willow shook her head before telling Xander that he was being too hung up on the jeans.

"Well… yeah.." admitted Xander before waving his hands, "but the thing is that maybe whoever this is wants us to name her. I'm thinking the Black Swan.. you know… she's wearing all black and…."

"That's the most ridiculous name, ever," said Buffy while Willow giggled; the redhead at the same time was listening intently while doing everything she could to be the Willow that Buffy and Xander knew. She then listened as Buffy told the both of them that she wished that the figure she and Giles encountered would stop what she was doing, "it's for her safety."

"Aw, come on, Buff," said Xander as Willow listened in, "she killed a vamp on her own; means she can take care of herself. Besides, it's nice to have the help… right?"

"She's not trained to fight vampires, Xand," said Buffy, "she's only one step away from getting bitten by a vampire, and then dying. Or even worse, she can be turned… and with telekinesis… can you imagine the chaos a vampire like that could cause? No, I can't have someone else take that risk… I'm the Slayer, and it should be me taking all of that risk. Will?"

Willow was listening to what Buffy was saying, and it reflected her own doubts as well; that she wasn't trained or that she may not be good enough to fight vampires. Deep down, Willow knew that it was the truth, that she was the same mousy girl; but when she put on the jacket, the jeans, and the balaclava last night… she felt different. She felt more confident, more outgoing…. She remembered the feeling of her body going on auto-pilot as she fought the vampire.. she remembered the feeling of the adrenalin rush as she staked the vampire. The truth was that one part of her feared what would happen to her; she feared dying and knew that Buffy was more training to fight vampires since she was the Slayer after all. But the other part of Willow didn't want to stop what she was doing; she wanted to help Buffy.

Willow knew what her answer was going to be as she looked at her best friend.

She had to hide.

"Maybe she's making a mistake," said Willow as she shrugged her shoulders, "you should tell her to back off and… I mean you should tell her nicely you know? Maybe she just wants to help, but you're the Slayer. You know?"

"Thank you," said Buffy as she looked at Willow, and then looked over her shoulder behind the redhead, and smiled. Buffy then looked at Willow, turned, and stopped; all before turning her around and then pulling away Xander. Xander, for his part, was looking at the redhead waving at a dark-brown haired young man who gave a small wave to the redhead before he looked at Buffy.

"Who's that?" asked Xander as he and Buffy walked into the classroom. Xander saw Willow brushing her hair behind her ear while she was smiling at the young man. And then Buffy pulled him into the classroom.

It was later on after school was over that Willow and the others, with Xander asking the redhead about the young man she was talking to, entered the library where Giles was seated behind the counter checking out books for two students.

"He's just a friend, Xander," said Willow as she waved at Giles before she went to sit down at the table with Buffy to her left as they put down their backpacks. The two students then walked out of the library before Giles walked around the counter and approached the table, occasionally glancing at Willow; he was wondering if the redhead knew exactly the danger she had put herself in last night.

"Giles," said Buffy as she leaned forward, "I told Willow and Xander about what happened last night."

"Oh?" asked Giles as he fixed his glasses and looked at the three of them. He then took one more step before lingering on Willow, mentally telling her to listen to what he had to say, 'what am I doing? She doesn't have telepathy. I just hope she realizes that I'm speaking more to her than anyone else."

"I can say that this person, whoever she is… is putting herself in danger," said Giles who was a little surprised to see that Willow was nodding her head while Xander sighed, and then shook his head saying that whoever the figure was seemed to be able to fight, and had powers. Giles nodded at Xander, and agreed with him before continuing, "even so, vampires and demons are a different breed. If she happens to tackle human crime, then that is still dangerous… but the danger is not as great as being bitten by a vampire and then being turned into one… or getting killed by a demon."

"That's kinda what I said," said Willow as she looked at Giles, "I mean Buffy's the Slayer and…. I mean she's the one who's supposed to take care of this."

"But having another superhero around is kinda cool though; Buff, I'm gonna go to your next patrol," said Xander, "maybe I could see this mysterious…"

"No," said Buffy as she shook her head, "Xand, patrol's not a dating service."

"I know," said Xander just as Cordelia walked into the library. It was then that Willow noticed the shared look between Cordelia and Xander that made the both of them immediately look away nervously. Shaking his head, Xander then turned to Willow and said that it was better for Buffy to have some help.

"Help with what?" asked Cordelia as she waited for Giles to bring up a book that she had requested for from the book stacks. The young dark-haired woman put her elbow on the counter and leaned while looking at Xander, who looked back at her. Cordelia saw that he was looking her up and down, and that immediately brought back the memory of them kissing in Buffy's house basement during the whole situation with the worm-guy from the Order of Teraka. Xander then told her about what Buffy and Giles had encountered the previous night. A surprised Cordelia looked at Buffy who nodded her head once Xander had finished telling her about the woman in black who had telekinetic powers.

"A woman with telekinetic powers," said Cordelia as she looked at Willow, their eyes connecting for a few moments before the redhead looked away, and Cordelia, who remembered hearing about what Willow did to Spike when she was Niko during Halloween, rolled her eyes before continuing to talk, "I wonder who that could be."

"Whoever it is… is doing something risky," said Willow as Cordelia looked at the redhead, "I mean she's not trained or…. I mean Buffy's the Slayer and…"

"Oh please," said Cordelia as she waved her hands about while Giles walked down the stairs with the books that Cordelia was looking for. Giles looked at Cordelia while heading behind the counter as he listened to her saying that Buffy wanted to be the only Slayer. Buffy was about to object when Cordelia looked at her, while Giles was scanning the books on the computer, and said that Buffy would rather put all the world's troubles on her shoulders than accept help, "because you just want others to feel sorry for you when you fail.. and then they have to say that 'hey Buffy, of course I'll come help you', geez… can't you just be happy that there's someone out there willing to help you?"

"That is not the point, Cordelia," said Giles as he handed her the books.

"Yeah… sure," said Cordelia sarcastically at Giles, before she looked at Willow, "let me guess, Willow's all for Buffy being the one and only Slayer?"

"Well…" said Willow as Cordelia looked at her with an eyebrow raised, 'she knows.'

"She's the Slayer," said Willow, "I mean…"

"Oh, come on," said Cordelia, "I know Xander just wants to see the costume that this…. Whoever it is, is wearing and…"

"Hey," said Xander as he looked back at Cordelia.

"You said you wanted to see her in those tight jeans," said Buffy.

"I know," said Xander, "but still…"

"All I know?" asked Cordelia as she walked towards the group, occasionally looking at Willow, "whoever this is? She wants to help, so let her help. If she makes mistakes... she'll learn from them. If she dies? Well, I'm sure she knows the risks. Anyway… I've spent enough time with you losers so… see ya."

Willow and Cordelia looked at each other just for one second before the dark-haired cheerleader turned around and headed out the door. The redhead was about to get up when she looked in surprise as Xander called for Cordelia when she was at the doors. Xander quickly got up and then rushed towards the doors where Cordelia was waiting, and then pulled her outside while loudly saying that he wanted to give her a piece of his mind for what he said about Buffy. Once Xander was gone, Willow shook her head and watched as Giles went to his office. In the meantime, Buffy shouted at Giles if he had anything for them.

"No!" shouted Giles as he walked out of his office and then towards the table carrying some books, "you two should go home, and Buffy does have patrol tonight."

"You think she's gonna show up again?" asked Buffy as she looked at Giles.

"Perhaps," said Giles as he sighed before fixing his glasses, "if I knew who it was under that mask, I would tell her to be very careful.. she did manage to take care of herself last night, but…. But there is the danger that she would find herself out of her depth if she keeps on going on like this."

"Then if she shows, we tell her to stop what she's doing," said Buffy as Willow nodded her head. The blonde Slayer then got up and told Giles that she was going to head to Angel's mansion before heading home. Willow said that she needed stay behind since she was supposed to help Xander with some algebra.

"Cool," said Buffy with a grin, "so… Oz ask you out yet?"

"Buffy," said Willow with her eyes wide open.

"What?" asked the Slayer as she shrugged her shoulders while she was walking backwards towards the double doors to the library. The Slayer then turned around after waving at Willow and walked through the double doors. Once the doors had closed again, Giles took off his glasses and looked at Willow with a frown on his face.

"Nice acting, huh?" asked Willow with a nervous smile, "you know… reverse psychology.. make Buffy and Xadner think that I'm really not approving of the mysterious woman and… I mean I'm scared like you won't believe when I went up against that vamp but… but Giles, it was so cool and… and terrifying at the same time and…"

"Willow," said Giles as he put both of his hands on the table and leaned forward slightly while looking at the redhead, "you should have told me you wanted to do something like this."

"I was asking myself if I wanted to do this or not," said Willow, "even when I was getting the costume ready… I mean I was thinking 'hey, you do this, then you may die' or 'you better ask Giles', but in the end I guess…. I mean I have these powers and… and I… I think I wanna use them. And I think if I told you then I'd chicken out and…"

"You still sound unsure," said Giles.

"I am," said Willow, "but when I put that thing on last night… I felt… felt different."

"Willow.." said Giles as the redhead interrupted him.

"I'm just missing one thing to put on my costume," said Willow, "something that would hide my scent. Giles?"

"Are you certain you want to do this?" asked Giles.

"I… I do," said Willow as her heart started to beat hard in her chest as she finally made the admission to Giles, "I.. I think I do.."

"You keep up your studies," said Giles as Willow nodded her head, "you don't let that drop… is that understood. And if… if you can't handle something…"

"I'll get out," said Willow nodding her head vigorously.

"I know someone who could help with hiding your scent," said Giles, "just…. Just don't go out tonight. I'll call him, and ask him to send something to me by tomorrow afternoon. But just to be on the safe-side, stay home and hone your telekinesis. Someone's coming to help with your magic abilities this weekend."

"Cool," said Willow as the door opened again and Xander walked in, telling Willow that he was sorry he was away for so long. Willow noticed his face was a bit flushed, and his shirt was crumpled in places, but pushed it to the back of her head. Then while Giles was putting away books, and helping students, Willow was helping Xander with his algebra.

 **Sunnydale Medical Examiner's Office, 2200 hours; two days later.**

Buffy killed someone last night.

That's the thought that was going through Willow's mind as she landed on the roof of the Sunnydale M.E's office. It was earlier that day that they found out that Buffy was responsible for killing a man named Ted, a man that Joyce had fallen for. Willow read in the paper that morning that Buffy was taken in for questioning after she said that she had kill him in self-defence; that Ted had threatened her and had even slapped her. Willow knew that the Sunnydale police were inept, that they would never believe the blonde who they, and Principal Snyder, had pegged as a troublemaker. The redhead remembered how upset Buffy had been; she blamed herself and was at home trying to fix things with her mother. In the meantime, Giles was patrolling in Buffy's place while the redhead, Xander, and Cordelia where checking records on Ted. Willow had found several things after hacking into various departments in Sunnydale, and she had given that information to Xander while telling him to go to the man's address with Cordelia, and she would go to Giles and tell him about the fact that Ted used tranquilizers in many of the food that he had fed to everyone so that they would be at ease with him.

That was only a few minutes ago, Willow stayed in the shadows on the roof while she mentally disconnected the camera, and then used her telekinesis to break the lock on the door of the roof access point.

'I wonder what Zachery would say if he saw me doing this,' thought Willow to herself as she opened the door, 'breaking and entering, neat.'

The redhead then mentally blew all the lights in the stairwell before she ran down the stairs. Immediately after finding out Ted's information and handing everything to Xander and Cordelia, Willow waited for the two of them to leave before she flew home, and then changed into her costume which had some added drops of an elixir, thanks to Giles' contact, that was meant to hide her scent. She then flew out of her house in the cover of darkness, and now she was in the basement of the M.E's office as she looked through the reinforced glass panel on the stairwell door that looked out into a lit hallway where there were two guard doing rounds. She then heard a voice over their radio saying something about a silent alarm that was going off; with the culprit being the roof access point.

Willow hid again when the guards were rushing towards her location since it was the one with rooftop access. She then mentally blew out the lights and camera's in the hallway, an action that made the guards cover themselves from the falling shards of glass as Willow used the distraction to quickly open the door and rush in. She punched one guard in the face before she punched another one in the abdomen when he heard his partner going down, Willow saw that he was reaching for a gun… so she mentally took it out of its holster and then threw it to the end of the hallway while the redhead jumped and then kicked him on the side of his head.

Willow then rushed to the room where the bodies were being held after she lay the unconscious guard on the floor against the wall. She used her gloved hand to cautiously open the door, and then she opened her eyes wide in surprise once she saw the mess in the body room. Willow rushed in and kneeled next to a man wearing a lab coat who was lying unconscious on the floor. The redhead felt for his pulse, and breathed out relieved that he was alive. She then looked up at the empty table where a white sheet had been pulled back, and on the floor there was a toe tag. Willow picked it up and then headed to a computer in the corner; she heard the sounds of footsteps in the distance as she started to type in the numbers on the toe tag.

Once she pressed the 'enter' key, Willow's eyes opened wide in shock under her goggles before she closed her entry, and then ran out of there as fast as she could. Just as she entered the stairwell that led to the roof, six guards had entered the body room and discovered the injured morgue attendant.

When she was on the roof, Willow flew up into the air and then headed towards the Summers house… which would take only three minutes as she flew as fast as possible. However, she knew that she needed to land soon since she was beginning to feel pain on the sides of her head the faster she flew.

'Few more minutes,' thought Willow to herself, 'I didn't go out last night, but I did go flying… and if I stay longer than twenty minutes in the air… then I have that headache and I get knocked out. Same thing happened when I go really fast, the time's cut down by half and I get the headaches… and get knocked out for much longer. And right now? It's gonna be eight minutes in the air. I need a break soon.'

Willow slowed down once she reached Buffy's house, and then her eyes went wide open when she looked through Buffy's window and saw Ted back fist Buffy, which then threw the Slayer against the wall. Willow saw Buffy slip down onto the floor as Ted looked down at her, and it was then that the redhead noticed sparks coming off a cut on his arm.

"Sparks?" asked Willow to herself as Ted rushed out of the room, which led to Willow dropping down to the walkway in front of the Summer's porch. She ran up the stairs and, just before reaching the door, the redhead took out her pepper spray and had it ready while she mentally unlocked the door and slammed it open just as Ted reached the bottom of the stairs, and was looking at the black figure heading towards him.

"Who the…" said Ted as Willow knocked him back onto the stairs using her telekinesis… however, the redhead felt something odd when she pushed him back onto the stairs. It was as if he was heavier than he seemed to be. However, Willow stepped in to the foyer and activated the pepper spray… a stream headed towards the man's eyes. But where he was supposed to be screaming in pain, Willow looked on stunned as the man just wiped off the chemical and said that she was a bad girl.

Willow then dove to one side, into the living room, as Ted lunged at her. The redhead rolled on th floor before she got up and took out the baton from its sheath. The redhead flicked her wrist and twenty-six inches of steel extended before she prepared herself to make another move.

"Ted?" asked a familiar voice from behind the man.

"Joyce," said Ted with a smile while he tried to hide the injury to his arm, "I…. wanna play some board games… Joyce my dear, we're going on a trip and…"

"What's going on?" asked Joyce as she looked past Ted at the figure in black, and then she looked at the strange facial ticks on the man who was dead just last night. Joyce looked between the both of them for a few seconds, wondering what was going on while wondering why Ted was talking as if he had two personalities.

"What's going on is that you are living with me," said Ted as he smiled at Joyce while he was rushing towards Willow, "we're going to be so in love and… and…. Buffy's going to die and you will be mine for all time."

Willow ducked as Ted punched at her, and then she rolled behind him and struck the back of his knees with the baton. However, it had no effect… all she heard was a dull 'klang' before she looked up at him. He rushed towards her again, so she ran towards Joyce and grabbed her before she telekinetically pushed her out of the back door.

"Wait," said Joyce as she felt herself being pushed by an invisible force out of the back door while the black figure turned around and crossed her arms in front of her and created an orange shield that blocked Ted's punches, "wait! Ted, stop this…"

"Joyce then felt one more push as the back door was mysteriously shut in her face, and the lock engaged from the inside. With Willow glad that Joyce was safe, she used her telekinesis to push back Ted… however it still felt hard for her to push him back.

'He's much heavier than he looks and….' thought Willow to herself as she used another telekinetic burst to push his away slightly, 'and his arm sparked, I thought I saw lights, and… and the voice. It's like… a robot? Are you freaking kidding me? Well, that does explain some things… using the baton is out of the question… my arms don't have the strength. Well, technically the force depends on my muscles, tendons, blah, blah, blah, and then air resistance and…. Stupid Willow.'

The redhead smiled under her balaclava as she looked at Ted and then pushed him back one more time. She then mentally hit him hard on the side of his face using her baton, with a force that was nearly equal to her own body weight.

"I can lift myself,' thought Willow to herself as she saw Ted stumble and fall onto the floor from that hit. It was then that Willow pulled the baton back to her when she saw Ted looking up at the stairs while covering his face with his hands. The redhead saw Buffy jump down onto Ted's chest before she turned around and saw a cast iron skillet on the island. Willow mentally grabbed it just as Ted pushed Buffy off him and onto the dining room table.

"Two bad girls!" shouted Ted as he lunged at Buffy who was getting up after rolling off the dining table.

Willow threw the skillet at the Slayer who caught it as she was getting up while the redhead, at the same time, mentally swung the baton on the other side of Ted's face with her full body weight behind the hit, on the side of his head. Ted then stumbled sideways while Buffy screamed at him to get out of her house while she swung the skillet hard, much harder that Willow ever could because of her superhuman strength. The redhead stepped to one side as Ted flew right past her and land at the entrance to the kitchen, and there he remained unmoving. Willow and Buffy, both panting, looked at each other just as the front door opened and Joyce rushed in while calling for Buffy.

Taking the distraction, Willow turned, ran, and then jumped over the fallen Ted whose face, Willow had seen, was ripped off by the force of Buffy's hit. She could see the metal and the circuitry underneath as she rushed through the door while Buffy was closely behind her.

'Please don't fail me now,' though Willow to herself as she jumped, and then flew higher into the air before she turned mid-air and hovered. She saw Buffy looking at her and asking who she was, and how it was she knew that Ted was in her home.

"Listen," said Buffy as she looked at the figure in black floating in the air, "we need to talk and.. and this whole silent thing is so not cool. Can we talk? At least? There's… look, thanks for saving mom and…"

Willow just nodded her head, her aching head, as she rose up and flew as fast as she could away from the Summers house. The pain in her head was getting intense the faster she flew home, so intense that her vision was getting blurred and she could feel some wetness coming down from her nose.

'Almost home,' thought Willow to herself as she hurriedly land on the roof outside her window, she mentally opened it and then rushed inside and closed the window behind her. She was feeling so hot now, and her head was burning as she hurriedly took off her clothes… the cool air of her room brushing against her face as she took off her balaclava, and then against her bare skin as she took off her jacket, jeans, and tank top and threw them on the floor. She wiped the blood from her nose as s she stumbled towards her bed while the pain in her head started to get even more intense; now she couldn't even keep her eyes open as she felt for the edges of her bed. Once she felt the mattress, she flopped down on the bed and sighed; and then she lost consciousness.

TBC.


	9. Chapter 9

**Willow's House, 0700 hours.**

All Willow heard was the pounding in her head as she slowly opened her eyes, only to see the sun light streaming through a crack in her curtains directly into one of her eyes. Groaning as she brought her arm, which felt as if it weighed a ton, to her face to block the light… the redhead then slowly got up and found herself sprawled sideways on her bed, with just her underwear bottoms on, and her costume thrown onto the floor. It was just then that she remembered the pain she was in the last night, the heat her body was in that made her take off everything she was wearing, and then just throw it onto the floor before she lost consciousness after flopping down on her bed. She groaned again and rolled onto her back and rubbed her temples, however there was still the sound of something pounding. It didn't take too long for the redhead to realize that it wasn't her head that was pounding, instead she was hearing the sound of someone pounding at her door.

Slowly getting off the bed, the redhead dropped her feet on the floor of her room; her legs trembling as pain went up her spine to her brain; then the redhead rubbed her temples even more as she reached for a robe that was hanging on the back of her door. Wrapping it around herself, Willow then limped out of her room, her mind still hurting from the exertions of last night; something that would not have happened if she didn't have to overuse her telekinesis in her fight against a robot.

A robot that she suspected was much heavier than her.

It was that overuse, she suspected as she walked down the stairs while telling whoever it was that she was on the way down in a groggy voice, that caused her headaches to be at intense as it was this morning. Maybe even more than it should have been.

'I'm still figuring out my limits,' thought Willow to herself as she reached for the doorknob.

Sighing, she made sure that the robe around her was tightly wrapped before she opened the door to find a worried looking Xander standing there with his backpack over his shoulder, his hand held up in a fist as if he was ready to pound on the door again.

"Xander?" asked Willow as she shook her head, and squinted at the sunlight hit her face, "what are you…."

"Where were you?" asked Xander worried.

"Huh?" asked Willow with her mouth hanging open while she stepped back.

"We have this thing where we call each other whenever one of us wakes up?" said Xander as he stood in the porch, "I woke up and called you… and called, and called, and oh yeah… called again. I got worried so I got here first to check and you and…"

"Oh, right," said Willow as she remembered their custom while shaking her head, her head which still had a throbbing pain that was slowly decreasing, "sorry, I studied till late, and I just got up. I guess I should get ready… wanna come in?"

"You got cocoa?" asked Xander as Willow gave a small smile before she stepped to one side. Xander walked inside before Willow closed the door behind him and then nodded at the kitchen. After telling the young man to help himself, Willow walked up the stairs while he headed for the kitchen; however, she did catch a glimpse of the young man glancing at her as she walked up the stairs… and it was then she realized that while they had been in each other's homes, this was the first time that Willow was in her robe with nothing underneath in front of him.

And the redhead blushed slightly.

'There was the whole footie pyjama's,' thought Willow to herself as she headed into her room and put away her costume before taking out a fresh set of clothes, and then she headed into the shower. She heard the television turn on as she walked into the restroom, and closed the door behind her. She opened the glass door and then turned on the shower, and stepped under the warm water. Once the water hit her head, the redhead felt the pain melt away before she placed her hands on the tiles in front of her and felt the water flow down her back. Sighing in relief, Willow finished her shower in a few more minutes before she put on her fuzzy shirt, and overalls; then grabbed her backpack, and then headed down to the living room where Xander was watching some TV.

It was then that the both of them headed out of the house, and just as Willow closed the door behind her… a black jeep stopped at the driveway and a blonde young woman jumped out of the passenger seat and ran towards the redhead.

"Buff?" asked Willow confused as Buffy approached both her and Xander looking worried, while Joyce leaned her head out of the window and waved. Willow and Xander waved just as Buffy got closer and told the redhead that she had her worried last night.

"Huh?" asked Willow while she was thinking to herself, 'she knows it was me last night? No, can't be.. I was careful and… and I know I didn't say anything but….'

"I called you, Will," said Buffy as she looked at her best friend with worry, "I called you like five times but no one picked up the phone, then I remembered that you said you were gonna see Giles. So I called him and asked him if he heard from you about the whole thing with Ted."

'Please tell me he said yes,' thought Willow to herself worriedly, 'please tell me he said yes.'

"And yeah, he did… but after that he didn't hear from you and.. and I told him that I was calling you and he told me that you were probably asleep," said Buffy, "but you always pick up the phone and I told mom, especially after what happened last night that you needed to see Ted and…"

"What about Ted?" asked Willow and Xander together.

"I thought he was... you know... dead…. Kaput?" asked Xander.

"He came back… apparently he's a robot," said Buffy as Xander and Willow looked at her in shock.

"I was gonna tell you guys this," said Xander, "Cordelia made an anonymous tip to the cops about the bodies in Ted's house."

"What bodies?" asked Buffy and Willow together. It was news which surprised the both of them.

"Buffy!" said Joyce, "we need to go."

"Right," said the Slayer as she looked at her mother, and then at Willow and Xander, "I'll tell you in the car. Listen, Ted's a robot and the mystery girl helped me beat Ted to the ground."

"She was there?" asked Xander in surprise.

"Yea," said Buffy as they headed for the jeep, "mom was asking me all these questions about her, and… and I mean I was the one who knocked Ted out but I couldn't tell mom. So if she asks, it was the mystery girl who knocked him out… I don't wanna freak her out anymore by telling her that her only daughter has supernatural powers."

"Clear on that," said Xander as Willow nodded her head. Once they were in the Jeep, Joyce was telling them the story about the girl in black, and then about Ted… she said that after Ted was revealed for who he was, it was Buffy who said that she'll take care of everything. Joyce had wanted to call the police and tell them about Ted, but Buffy said that the cops, being the inept force that they were, would find a way to blame Buffy for killing a robot. Joyce said as she was driving that Buffy suggested going to a scrap yard in the outskirts of the city, something that freaked out Joyce… however Buffy convinced her that Ted was a full robot, even showed her the literal inner workings on the side of his face and neck where the skin was torn apart, so much so that the lights and wires inside could be seen.

Joyce then said that she and Buffy took the robot out in the jeep.

"I wanted to help but…." said Joyce, "Buffy told me to stay where I was while she pulled the robot's body and… and I guess it was the whole rush of the moment, but I saw her pull the body away easily."

"I didn't feel a thing," said Buffy as Xander and Willow looked at each other, and then looked at Buffy who was rubbing her shoulders while looking over her shoulder at the two of them, and winked, "but this morning my shoulders, and arms are burning."

"See," said Joyce as she nudged Buffy's arm, "I told you not to do it yourself."

"Sorry, mom," said Buffy as Willow and Xander looked at each other and then at Buffy and silently chuckled.

It would be later that day, after talking to Giles about what happened following the surprise that he and Jenny Calendar were back together, that Buffy would be told that she wasn't being charged with Ted's murder; but it was only because there wasn't any evidence. However, they were now looking for Ted in regards to the murder of three other women in his basement room.

 **Sunnydale High, three weeks later.**

Willow was looking into the recess of her locker while Buffy was telling her about meeting Angel that morning; and the kiss that they shared. She was telling Willow that he was the one for her, and that they may even take it to the next level. The redhead felt Buffy's voice going far away as she thought back to the dream she had that morning. A dream that woke her up with a start, a dream that brought fear to her very soul. She dreamt that she was in a dimly lit stone walled room; she had tried to move but she couldn't since she was hanging in mid-air with her arms spread and chained to the ceiling of the room, and her legs were spread as well and rendered immobile by the chains that were attached to them. Willow could feel her shoulders burning as the taut chains holding her arms spread wide while not allowing her onto the floor. The redhead could feel the tears rolling down her face as she called for help.. she could feel the heat in the air, and the stink of rotten flesh that was coming from all around her. It was then that a wooden door in front of her opened and she widened her eyes in fear when a naked demon with three eyes, antlers, hooves, and a red muscled body walked in while sneering at the redhead. Willow tried to struggle and scream, but she found that she couldn't… and it was then, thanks to the light from the outside hallway, did she noticed the slits on the demon's wrists, and then she noticed something from the corner of her eyes. She turned her head to see a table of various knives, cleavers, scissors, and various other instruments of what she could only guess was for torture.

Willow then looked at the demon in front of her and screamed. The scream didn't last long as the demon then lunged forward and wrapped its bloody, and slimy, hand against her mouth. He then looked into her eyes and smiled. Willow tried to use her telekinesis, but found out that she couldn't. She tried again and again, but she couldn't save herself.

"A soul," said the demon in a deep voice as Willow's eyes opened wide when she noticed the rows of four sharp teeth in his mouth, and then she felt the rough tongue as he licked her neck before he started to sniff her. Once he had gathered her scent, the demon looked into Willow's eyes again and grinned, "I haven't had a soul here for a very long time. Don't worry, you'll be my play thing… there are others here who have never tasted a soul before. They'll want to taste you… carve your flesh, eat your heart."

"S.. stay.. away," said Willow. She was about to say something else when the demon roared in her face and then reached into her mouth and grabbed her tongue.

"You'll never die here," said the demon as it pulled on Willow's tongue; the redhead's eyes were wide open in fear, "for the next thousands of years, you are mine… and then you'll be the vampire's plaything, and then every demon here will want you.. they'll want to eat your flesh, drink your blood. But you will never die… you will remain young and ensouled… a drug for all of us. But first, I want a taste; I am hungry."

"Willow," said Buffy's voice as the redhead shook her head and closed the locker door; the dream was still fresh in her mind as she smiled at the blonde Slayer who was looking back at here, "you ok?"

"Yeah" replied the redhead as she nodded her head. Willow remembered the times that the both of them, although Buffy still didn't know, spent time the past few nights' fight vampires together, with the redhead even preventing a few muggings on her way back home. Once Buffy was sure that Willow was indeed alright, which the redhead knew that she was not due to her dream, the blonde nodded her head to her right. The redhead looked at Oz, who was talking to someone else while glancing over at her occasionally.

"So, about Oz, Will," said Buffy as she leaned into the redhead, "any sparkage?"

"I… ah… I…" said Willow nervously.

"You can't wait for Xander, Will," said Buffy as the redhead blushed slightly, "you're single, you're hot, go talk to him."

"My, Buffy," said Willow at the blonde with an eyebrow raised, "you think I'm hot?"

"Don't go there," said Buffy as Willow chuckled as the young man talking to Oz walked off, and the dark haired young man started to walked towards Buffy and Willow.

"What if the talking thing become the silence thing… again," said Willow.

"You've talked to him," said Buffy as she looked at the redhead, "and I don't remember any silence."

"Well, you're gone and… and then I'm gone and…"

"You're the smartest one I know," said Buffy as Oz got closer, "get him to ask you out, or you ask him out… don't take no for an answer."

Buffy then nodded her head before looking back at Oz. She then said hi, and waved, and then turned around and looked at Willow before she patted the redhead's shoulder, and then walked away.

The redhead, whose heart was beating fast at the thought of the dream and how real it seemed, and at the fact that Oz was getting closer and closer, Willow wondered if what she saw was part of her clairvoyance especially since it didn't really feel like it. Then she wondered if it was due to her starting her magical training under the eye of a woman named Althanea from the Devon Coven. She met the middle aged woman only a week ago, and had already begun the basics of magic. Introduced to her by Giles, the both of them told Althanea about what happened to Willow during Halloween with the redhead having demonstrated her telekinetic abilities, including her flight.

Althanea then told Willow that she'll be tutoring her for the next four weeks in basic magic, but she also wanted to know how Niko had been training with Ariel and the Circle of Thought. But as Oz walked towards the redhead, Willow pushed those thoughts, and her dream to the back of her mind and smiled at Oz who was standing in front of her.

"Hey," said Oz.

"Hi," replied Willow as she felt butterflies again in her stomach, "haven't seen you around much… I mean not that I was looking for you just that I haven't… you know… seen you around much."

"I just got back last night," said Oz as Willow raised an eyebrow questioningly, "I went to my aunt's place; visited my cousin, played some gigs here and there."

"Oh," said Willow, "so… uum… do you guys, uh, have a gig tonight?

"Oh, no. Practice," said Oz shaking his head as he pointed towards the young man who he said was the lead of their band, "see, our band's kinda moving towards this new sound where... we suck, so... practice."

Willow then smiled and told him that she lied, that she really was at the Bronze a few days ago with Buffy and Xander, and she did hear them play. She then told Oz that she gets nervous sometimes and becomes a klutz; she kept on babbling for a few more seconds while Oz just looked at her with his eyebrows raised. Willow, recognizing the look that Oz was giving her, apologized for babbling before telling him that she thought the band sounded good.

"Thanks," said Oz as the both of them walked out of the building and into the quad.

"I bet you have a lot of groupies," said Willow as they sat together on a bench, and Willow visibly winced while mentally hitting herself as she thought, 'I bet you have a lot of groupies? What the heck is wrong with you?'

"It happens," said Oz as he looked at Willow, "now, I'm living groupie-free."

"Oh," said Willow as she perked up and smiled, "Ummmm…."

"I'm gonna ask you to go out with me tomorrow night," said Oz much to Willow's surprise, "and I'm kinda nervous about it, actually. It's interesting."

"If it helps at all," said Willow as she nodded her head in excitement, "I'm gonna say yes."

"Yeah, it helps," said Oz as Willow smiled, "It creates a comfort zone. So, here goes. Do you wanna go out with me tomorrow night?"

"Yes," said Willow excitedly when the smile on her face suddenly vanished and she cringed, all before the redhead slapped her hand to her forehead, "Oh! I can't."

"I like that you're unpredictable," said Oz as Willow blushed.

"It's just that it's Buffy's birthday, and we're throwing her a surprise party," said Willow.

"It's okay," replied Oz.

"But you could come," said Willow nodding her head with a wide smile, "if you want to."

"Well, I don't wanna crash."

"No, it's fine!" said Willow shaking her head and waving her hands about, "you… you could be m... my date."

"All right," said Oz nodding his head as he gave a small smile, "I'm in."

Willow smiled back at Oz before indicating that she needed to go. Oz nodded his head as the both of them stood up, with Willow smiling at the young man while brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear. Willow waved at Oz before turning around and walking away with a grin on her face.

"I said date," whispered Willow to herself.

The next night, their date had gone off as expected in Sunnydale. Buffy was attacked by vampires, along with Miss Calendar who was supposed to bring her over to the Bronze. Oz had witnessed his first dusting of a vampire, to which Willow then explained everything about demons, and vampires with the redhead surprised that he didn't freak out.

Instead, Willow smiled when all he said was that it explained a lot of the weird things in the city.

However, the biggest surprise came from a box that Buffy said some vampires were stealing from a truck… a box that Giles and Angel, who had also come for Buffy's birthday party, took from Miss Calendar, and then placed it on a table. It was Buffy who opened the box, and once it was opened… everyone looked on shocked as an arm; just an armoured arm… started to choke Buffy. Giles and Angel pried the hand off Buffy's throat, with a little help from Willow's telekinesis. It was then that the redhead got a good look at the arm just before it was pushed back down into the box.

Once the box was closed, everyone heard Angel whisper, 'it can't be, she wouldn't.'

Angel then told everyone about a legend he had heard a long time ago; a legend about a demon brought forth to rid the Earth of the plague of humanity, to separate the righteous from the wicked, and to burn the righteous down. The Scoobies, Oz, and Cordelia looked at each other nervously when Angel mentioned that the creature was called the Judge.

"The Judge?" asked Giles as he looked at the closed box, "this is he?"

"Yea," said Angel as Willow looked at Oz, and told him that she'll be right back. Oz nodded his head before Willow rushed to Giles and grabbed his elbow.

"I need to talk to you," whispered Willow into his ear before looking at the man, her eyes telling Giles that it was absolutely urgent that he hear what she had to say, "now…"

"What's going on?" asked Buffy.

"I'm sure we need to do some research on the Judge to find out his full capability," lied Giles as he looked at Buffy, and then at the serious look that Willow was giving him, "I'll be right back."

Willow and Giles walked to the entrance of the Bronze and stood under a light post with the redhead telling Giles that the arm that they had seen, armour and all, was in the vision she had a few weeks ago.

"The blue demon with Spike and Drusilla standing on either side of him?" asked Giles as Willow nodded her head, "are you certain?"

"This means that… that Spike's alive, that Drusilla's alive," said Willow, "and if that arm is part of a larger demon? Then…"

"He'll be reconstructed soon," said Giles as he looked at the entrance to the Bronze, fixed his glasses, and then looked at Willow again, "this thing nearly destroyed an army that was sent after it. The survivors dismembered him and scattered his pieces all around the world."

"And he's here," said Willow, "Giles, Niko's visions nearly always come true and… and I have to believe that we can change the future."

"We can," said Giles as Willow thought about her nightmare.

"We have to," said Willow, "Giles, I need to know that we can change the future because…"

"Because of what?" asked Giles as Willow looked back at him with terror in her eyes.

"I… I thought that maybe it won't happen and…" said Willow shaking her head.

"Willow," said Giles, "did you have another vision?"

Willow looked at Giles and wondered what he'd say about her dream. She was worried that he'll force her to stop doing what she liked, that he'll stop her from helping Buffy in her own way. So she lied and told him that she didn't see another vision, just that she had a feeling things were about to get worse.

"Let's go back in," said Giles, "I'm sure we can find a way to get this arm out of the city, and away from Drusilla and Spike."

"We have to, Giles," said Willow as she wrapped her arms around herself and walked back into the Bronze with Giles next to her, "we need to."

"Are you alright?" asked Giles as he examined the look on Willow's face.

"Yea," said Willow as she shook her head as she pushed her vision, or her nightmare, to the back of her head. She then then looked at Giles and smiled, "I'm all right, Giles. Let's deal with the Judge, I'll start on some research when we get back to the library."

"Very well," said Giles while thinking to himself as Willow waved at Buffy, 'something is wrong. Willow, what are you hiding?'

TBC.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sunnydale High, 2200 hours; the next day.**

As the lights in the school hallway shut off; a shiver went up Willow's spine while she was talking to Xander about having discovered that not only was her oldest friend seeing Cordelia, he had also hidden it from her. But that conversation stopped when the lights had gone out, and they heard Angel calling out to Willow from one end of the hallway. Willow turned around and looked at Angel covered in shadow, standing in front of the very doors that the redhead had walked through after finding out about the truth; she had gone out to calm down after she screamed at Xander in the hallway for hiding something like this from her. However, when she was outside on the roof of the school, Willow realized her hypocrisy; she was hiding who she was from Xander and their friends, she was hiding her nightly activities. It was a few minutes later that she climbed down the side of the school using the emergency ladder, and then went back into the school. Now, as she looked at Angel the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

There was something about the vampire standing in a dark corner of the hallway that unsettled her.

Angel was their friend; their ally. But she could hear Niko's voice in her mind, she could hear Ariel's voice in her mind; both of them saying that there was something wrong.

The experience from Niko telling Willow that something was wrong.

She knew that they had failed since they lost the Judge's arm; Willow placed some of the blame on herself… she told Giles in private that she should have been there… that she could have had an excuse to tell Buffy that she needed to come along with them. Willow told Giles after the incident at the port that there was something that Niko was training to do using mystical forces, but she had to be in close proximity for the plan to work. Willow repeated to Giles that she should have been there; that she could have tried Niko's technique since she had managed to show it to Althanea who was impressed with how advanced Niko was in her training.

"But you must take it slow, Willow," said Althanea back in Giles apartment after Willow dispelled the illusion, "we will augment Niko's mystical training, but we will begin with the basics; and then we will go on from there."

"Neat," said Willow with a grin.

However, after the arm was stolen from the port last night, Giles told Willow that she herself still wasn't too sure about that technique, and he agreed with Willow's initial plan; that they gained more information through their research.

 **The Bronze, 2200 hours, the previous night.**

Last night, after Willow and Giles talked, Angel told them that he'll have to take the box with the Judge's arm out of the country, that he wanted to bury it where no one would ever find it, and that he would be gone for a year at most. Willow had seen how upset Buffy was upon hearing the news, and she glanced at Xander who was indifferent to the prospect of having Angel gone for a year. But a part of her felt upset too, he was a friend despite being a vampire… and she was supportive of Buffy and Angel's burgeoning relationship. But another, rational, part of the redhead silently agreed with Angel, that he needed to take the arm away with him; at least that's what Niko's experiences told her. It was times like this that Willow wished she had the use of Ranger-1, the Series Five Rangers' hyperspace enabled ship, then she'd put it on another planet.

Instantly taking away the threat of the Judge.

But since the technology didn't exist for such a ship, Angel had the next best idea. Willow saw Buffy hugging Angel, and redhead then walked forward and placed her hand gently on Buffy's shoulder and squeezed slightly, the redhead giving a small smile to Angel who nodded his head. She then stepped back as Angel tightened his hold on Buffy while Giles talked to Angel, and then Miss Calendar walked over to the ensouled vampire and told him that she'll drive them to the port.

Willow sensed something off in Miss Calendar's voice, but she couldn't tell what it was…. It seemed as if she was a bit too eager for Angel to leave. But just as quickly, Willow thought to herself that Miss Calendar just wanted to see the arm be taken out of Sunnydale. It was five minutes later that Buffy and Angel left with Miss Calendar in her car towards the port of Sunnydale, it was just before the three of them left that Cordelia asked if anyone knew how to contact the girl in the black costume.

"No," said Angel as he looked at everyone, "wait, does anyone know how to contact her?"

Willow tried to hide her smile as she thought about the few times that she had helped take down vampires with Angel and Buffy together. She would always be silent with the two of them, but the redhead would join them as a test of the elixir that hid her scent, and she was glad it worked even against Angel. However, now she just looked at Angel before saying that maybe she could help; but of course the problem was that they didn't know how to contact her.

"I mean," said Willow as she looked at Buffy who was reluctant to have the mysterious girl take part in this operation, "even you said that she's helped you out a lot, Buffy."

"This is big, though," said Buffy, "she's helped but.. I mean even if we needed her help, I think she operates at the cemetery's; and we don't have time to go through all the cemeteries looking for her."

"Maybe she's got super hearing," said Cordelia as she looked at everyone while shrugging her shoulders, "you know… you go out and shout, 'hey, Nighthawk', and she comes running… or flying."

"Nighthawk?" asked Xander as everyone looked at Cordelia, especially Willow who looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "seriously?"

"What?" asked Cordelia as she looked at everyone, her eyes lingering at Willow for a few seconds longer before she looked at Xander, "you have a better code name?"

"Well," said Xander as Miss Calendar interrupted them by saying that they needed to leave right then and there, that they had no more time to waste.

"Good luck, Angel," said Willow as Angel nodded at her, and then at Giles before he left with Buffy and Miss Calendar. In the meantime, Giles took Xander, and Cordelia who looked at Willow as she passed by, towards his car. While Willow wanted to help Buffy and Angel as she walked with Oz towards his van, she thought about what Buffy said back inside the Bronze, the redhead's M.O. was to scour the cemeteries in search of Buffy or any other vampires, and the odd mugger on the way back home. But if she showed up that far outside the city, then Angel, Buffy, and Miss Calendar would suspect that one of the Scoobies was the woman in black since they were the only ones aware of what would be going on at the port.

So Willow made the decision to stay with Oz, and smiled at him as he talked to her while they were walking. She could still feel the butterflies in her stomach the more she looked at the young man; and then she did something she knew she would never have done otherwise, if she never had the experiences, and confidence of a Ranger; the both of them were walking so close that she gently brushed her hand against his as their arms swung while walking. The redhead couldn't help but blush as she put back a few strands of her hair before she looked at Oz, and then gently grabbed his fingers; and then laced her fingers between his, when all of a sudden her face showed her uncertainty as she looked at the surprise on Oz's face. Willow wondered if she did the right thing, and was about to let go when Oz gave her a small smile and then gently squeezed the redhead's hand.

'I have a boyfriend!' thought Willow to herself as she mentally jumped up and down while she blushed as she looked back in front and they continued walking towards his van, which was parked next to Giles' Volvo.

"Willow," said Giles as he opened his door, his voice bringing the redhead out of her thoughts, "we'll meet you at the library, we need to begin researching on the judge."

"I'll see you there," said Willow nodding her head vigorously, trying to silently tell him that she's not going to go out on her own, at least not until she's done with the research. Giles then nodded his head while Xander got into the front seat of the car and turned to Giles; Willow knew the young man was asking the Watcher something, but it was as she let of Oz's hand to open the passenger side door did she notice Cordelia looking back at the redhead with an eyebrow raised, and a smirk on her face.

'She saw us holding hands,' thought Willow to herself as her face turned red. Cordelia just nodded her head before getting into the backseat of the car, while Willow entered the van and closed the door. It was then that both groups headed out of Buffy's quickly cancelled birthday party.

 **Sunnydale High, 2200 hours; the next day.**

Back in the present, Willow and Xander squinted their eyes in the dark as they looked at Angel.

"Angel?" asked Willow stepping forward while another Shiver going up her spine.

"Yea," said Angel as he motioned towards the redhead, "Willow, come here… I wanna show you something."

"Ummm.." said Willow as she looked at Xander, and then at Angel again.

"I've got some information on the Judge," said Angel whose face was still hidden in shadow, "hey, Xander… call the others. Willow, come on… you should really hear this."

"Okay," said Willow she walked towards Angel while Xander ran through the nearby door to call for the others. It was a few seconds later that he stopped mid-way, and turned back… he had gotten a bad feeling. It was at that time, where Willow was a few steps closer to Angel, but stopped walking when all of her senses were going off at once. She took a few steps back from Angel when she heard Miss Calendar's voice from behind her.

"Willow," said the I.T. teacher who was wielding a wooden cross as Willow looked over her shoulder, "get away from him, and…"

It was too late.

Willow heard a growl and the next thing she knew, Angel had grabbed her, and then in one fluid motion… before she could even register what was going on; Angel, her friend, her ally… had his hand around her neck in a vice-like grip. Willow's mouth was wide open as she tried to breath; she wanted to use her abilities…. but she had heard about who Angel used to be from Giles and Buffy, he was a monster.

'If this Angel isn't our Angel,' thought Willow as she yelped as his hand gripped her throat tighter while Xander ran back into the hallway and stood next to Miss Calendar, "then it's.. it's the other Angel… Angelus. He's supposed to be worse than Spike and… and if I use my powers here then…. oh, oh…. Stupid Willow, stupid, stupid Willow. NO powers, no powers… I use them now? He'll know and I'm dead… me first and…. Oh boy.'

"Angel," said Xander as he noticed Willow close her eyes.

"He's not Angel," said Miss Calendar as she held up the cross towards the vampire.

"I am Angel," said Angel with a grin on his face, a grin that sent even more chills down everyone's spine. He then tightened his hold on Willow's throat, and then leaned forward and spoke into her ear, "nothing's gonna save you."

"Will?" asked Xander as he looked at the redhead while Jenny took a step forward.

"You can pray for rescue if you want," said Angel as he pulled Willow off her feet while Xander and Jenny took a step back. Angel grinned at the two of them while Willow's legs were kicking away, her mind was burning as she opened her mouth and struggled to breath before Angel put an arm around her waist to support her body. With Willow's neck now at Angel's mouth level, he licked her neck and then looked at Jenny and Xander, "doesn't matter. I'll leave you as a message for Buffy, Willow."

Just as Willow opened her eyes, Angel heard Buffy's voice behind him.

"I'm right here," said Buffy as Angel turned around.

"I guess prayers do work," grinned Angel as he hissed into Willow's ear.

"Buffy," said Willow as the door that was behind Buffy opened roughly, and the girl in black that Cordelia had referred to last night as Nighthawk flew down onto the pavement outside the door, and walked in silently before she stood next to Buffy who looked at her confused. Shaking her head, and pushing some questions to the back of her mind, Buffy then looked at Angel.

"What you wanna tell me, you tell me," said Buffy, her voice pained as she looked at the man she loves, "let Willow go."

"It's not something that I can…" said Angel as Nighthawk waved her hand and both Angel and Willow were slammed hard against the wall. The force that slammed the both of them against the wall caused Angel to let go of Willow's throat just before they hit the wall.

"Get her out of her," said Buffy looking at Nighthawk as she nodded at Willow; and then Nighthawk ran towards the redhead, grabbed her hand, and the both of them ran while Buffy punched Angel with tears in her eyes. Willow and Nighthawk then stood next to Xander and Miss Calendar as Angel grabbed both sides of Buffy's head while Willow closed her hands into fists, controlling her telekinesis through the Nighthawk illusion. Nighthawk raised her left hand as Angel's hands were forced away from the sides of Buffy's head… the blonde Slayer still in shock about seeing the one she loved being so changed in front of her. Angel, with his hands out by his sides, leaned forward and kissed Buffy's forehead with his vampire face still activated just before he felt a force pushed him onto the exit doors. He hit the doors hard, and then fell to the floor as Buffy slowly turned to face him, tears streaming down her face as her hands were rolled tightly into fists. He then slowly got up and pointed at Buffy.

"I'll see you soon, lover," said Angel before he looked at Nighthawk, and pointed his finger at her, "I'll see you soon too."

Angel then ran out of the building before Nighthawk turned to face Willow.

"Thanks," said Willow as Nighthawk nodded her head and then left down an adjacent hallway while Jenny, Xander, and then Willow ran to Buffy who was sitting on the floor and wiping her eyes.

"Buffy?" said Willow as Buffy turned to her, her bottom lip trembling as she Slayer brushed her fingers on Willow's neck.

"I'm sorry, Will," said Buffy as her voice broke while the redhead then leaned forward and hugged the blonde, her arms tightening around Willow's shoulder as she started to sob. In the meantime, Willow looked over her shoulder and asked Xander to get Giles and the others.

"We have a problem," said Miss Calendar with the cross on her side. Willow looked at Miss Calendar while Xander ran to the library, the redhead had a lot of questions for the I.T teacher; particularly about how she knew that there was something wrong with Angel. But she didn't want to ask it now in front of her distraught friend as she felt hot tears through her shirt. It didn't take too long for Giles, Cordelia, and Oz to rush to where Willow was hugging Buffy. By now, the Slayer had calmed down and pulled back before looking into her best friend's eyes and apologizing again for what just happened.

"Buffy," said Giles as he looked down at the Slayer, "how did… what happened?"

"I… He lost his soul," said Buffy as she looked away from Giles, and back onto the floor, "I.. I…"

"Maybe we should get you home," said Willow as she looked at Buffy; the redhead was the only one in the group who Buffy told about she and Angel spending the night together. Willow then looked at Giles and told him that there'd be time to ask her questions tomorrow.

"Of course," said Giles as Xander helped Buffy stand up, and Oz helped Willow get to her feet.

"Can you take me home?" asked Buffy as she looked at Willow who nodded her head; the redhead then looked at Oz and gave a small smile before he told them that his van was in the lot outside. It was a few minutes later that Willow walked Buffy to her door before hugging the Slayer again, telling her that they'll find a way to help Angel get back his soul. Buffy nodded her head before saying goodnight to Willow, and waving to Oz who was in his van. The redhead walked away after the door closed, and headed towards the van. Willow didn't know what was going to happen now; but the only thing she knew was that thing had gotten dangerous for all of them.

'I need to talk to Althanea when I get back home,' thought Willow to herself as Oz drove the van; she then sat back in her seat while looking at Oz, 'there has to be a way to dis-invite Angel… there has to be."

Little did Willow know that, as the van drove away, Angel was hiding under a tree smiling at the now lit window of Buffy's room. The vampire saw Buffy look out of the window before closing the curtains.

"The fun begins now, lover," said Angel as he ran towards the factory that was Spike and Drusilla's lair, he had to reintroduce himself to his former partners in crime, "I'll teach you for making me feel human."

TBC.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** The first part of this chapter references events in episode 58 of the 'Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'.

 **Giles' Apartment, four weeks ago; 1800 hours.**

Willow knocked on the door to Giles' apartment before stepping back with her hands in her pockets. The Watcher had told her that morning in the library that someone would be coming from the Devon Coven to meet with her in regards to her magic training, and now that she was going to meet this woman, the redhead started to get nervous. She took a few deep breaths and wondered how she should tell Giles and this woman about the training that Niko had done before leaving for Earth.

Stepping back as Giles opened the door to his apartment, Willow smiled at him as he welcomed her in while stepping back, and to one side. Willow walked in to find a woman with dark curly hair up to her shoulders get off the couch before she walked around it. Willow could tell that she was in her mid-forties, with a green blouse and orange skirt as she walked towards the redhead while her hand was reaching out.

"You must be Willow Rosenberg," said the woman in an English accent.

"Yea," said Willow shaking her hand; the redhead then noticed the woman looked down at her hand as she turned it over to look at the palm, and then back up at Giles, and then at Willow again with a smile.

"My name is Althanea Pierce," said the woman before she asked for Willow's other hand.

"Sure," said the redhead as she looked at Giles who nodded his head before she put up her other hand. Willow then watched Althanea hold her hands in her own before Althanea turned the hands over and looked at the redhead's palms again. Willow saw the dark haired woman then look back at her before gently releasing Willow's hands.

"Let us take a seat before we begin?" asked Giles as he motioned towards the couch. The two women nodded their heads and headed to the living room, where Althanea sat on the couch with Willow and Giles sitting across from her. Giles then leaned forward and was about to say something when Althanea asked that Willow tell her about herself.

"What would you like to know?" asked Willow who had the palms of her hands laying down in her thighs.

"About you," said Althanea, "if we're going to be working together in developing your magic, then I'd like to know the background of the person I'll be working with."

Willow then nodded her head before telling the woman everything about herself; from her being alone with her nanny, to her feeling that sometimes she had a guardian angel looking over her in the form of a ball of light, to telling Althanea about her parents and how her mother dismissed her concerns and believed that Willow should be independent from a young age. Willow then told Althanea about her experiences in school in very basic terms; in that she was the outsider who had a very small circle of friends. Willow then looked at Giles before asking him if she should talk about everything that happened in High School.

"Althanea knows about Buffy," said Giles as Willow nodded her head before looking at the woman again.

The redhead told Althanea, who listened silently and without interfering, about meeting Buffy, and the adventures she had since then.

"I'm usually the research girl," said Willow before telling Althanea that she'd hack into computers to find information they were looking for, but she always wished she could do more, "I still do, but after Halloween… I also kinda know my limits. I know I need to control myself. That I can't always help Buffy and…"

"Which is why you would like to learn how to control magic in this world," said Althanea nodding her head.

Willow knew that the woman meant that as a statement, and not a question while she nodded her head.

"Tell me about Niko," said Althanea, "I'd like to know who she was… or is, her experiences; I'd like know a little of the training she received, and who trained her… what she was trained in… everything that you can tell me."

Willow nodded her head before going on a quick background of Niko from when she was found on Alspeth, to her discovery by Ariel and her exodus to the planet known as Xanadu where she was training in the mystics and her own psionic powers of telekinesis and clairvoyance. Willow told Althanea about Niko's training with the Galaxy Rangers, followed by the procedure that surgically inserted the Series Five implant in her brain, and the brains of three others, as an experiment that would bring humanity closer to merging man and machine.

"Interesting," said Althanea, "and this implant, according to what Mr. Giles has described, has the ability to enhance your natural powers by…"

"A lot," said Willow, "when Niko used it to cut the magical links from Janus' statue to the implant and the badge, she… I mean we, saw the links themselves. We saw everything… all the magical energy reaching out to those in costume from the Janus statue."

"Interesting," said Althanea nodding her head, "that is an amazing power; being able to see magic by augmenting your own powers. The ones I know can do it naturally, but you did it with the aid of technology which in itself is amazing."

"Thanks?" said Willow nervously.

"What are your thoughts on magic?" asked Althanea.

"I used to think that it would be cool to learn magic," said Willow as she looked at Giles, and then at Althanea once again, "I mean I was kinda reading some books even before this whole thing happened."

"You never told me that," replied Giles.

"Sorry?" squeaked Willow before she looked at Althanea who was chuckling, "now I know what Niko's been through in her training with magic. I know the level of control she put in so that the magic didn't take her over, and that's because of the training she received from Ariel and the Circle of Thought. And her experiences are my experiences, but I know that magic in Niko's world could be different than our world; so I'd like to control my own version of magic; combining Niko's training with Ariel, and with what you can teach me… I mean if you still want to teach me."

"I'll be a hard task-master," said Althanea as she looked at Willow with her deep blue eyes, "we'll start from the basics. We, ss in you, me, and Mr. Giles will devise a plan using what you've already learned with Ariel since that wold be the easiest. If I believe there are any deficiencies, then I'll make some alterations here and there."

"I got it," said Willow nodding her head.

"One more thing, Willow," said Althanea, "you must not skip ahead to the next lesson by yourself until I feel you've mastered the basics. Is that understood?"

"Ummm…" said Willow nervously as Giles frowned at her, "I kinda skipped ahead and… I mean I'm sorry but even with the Rangers, there'd be times when Niko would still train with Ariel since she was her Mentor. And well, there was something that Ariel was teaching Niko."

"Which is?" asked Althanea with a lot of curiosity in her voice.

"Ariel was a master of deception," said Willow, "I mean she trained Niko in the basic and advanced magics, but her speciality was in illusions."

"In war," said Giles, "deception is key."

"Yeah," replied Willow as she looked at the watcher, and then at Althanea, "that was Ariel's motto too. She could disguise herself, disguise others, and even project a copy of herself... it was the last part that interested me."

"Show me," said Althanea as Willow closed her eyes, "control, Willow. This seems like a very advanced form of magic. So control is key."

"I understand," said the redhead as she opened her eyes and smiled; and it was then that Giles gasped as he looked behind Althanea. The middle-aged witch then turned around and stood up with a smile on her face. There, standing behind the couch that Althanea was sitting on earlier, was a perfect replica of Willow smiling back at them. Althanea walked around the couch while Giles stood up with his eyes wide open in surprise, and followed Althanea around the couch and stood in front of the doppelganger.

"Willow, how…." Said Giles as he looked at the redhead who had her hands rolled into fists, and her face was concentrating on the image in front of her.

"I have to concentrate," said Willow as the fake Willow turned to face Giles and Althanea, and waved, "I can make her move how I want, look how I want, and…"

The doppelganger then walked over to the kitchen counter, and picked up a cup before turning to Althanea and Giles, and then walked towards them.

"And I can project my telekinesis through the image, make it seem like she has physical form," said Willow, "but… but… Giles, catch the mug."

"Ohhh," said Giles as he rushed forward as the doppelganger vanished, and the cup fell towards the floor, only to be caught by Giles. Giles then placed the cup on the counter before turning around to see Althanea kneeling in front of Willow who was rubbing her forehead, "Willow?"

"It takes a lot out of me," said the redhead as she looked at Althanea, and then at Giles before she shook her head, "doing that the same way that Niko did it is kinda pain on the brain. I can hold it for a few more minutes if I really concentrated, I guess. But Ariel told Niko that this really isn't a long distance technique, she had to be nearby for it to work."

"I did feel the magic," said Althanea as she stood up and then walked backwards until she was sitting on the couch while Giles sat next to Willow, "but I'd like for you to put a hold on using that magic until you've gotten a grasp on the basics on the magics of this world. Clear?"

"Yeah," said Willow nodding her head.

"It is impressive though, and like I said…" said Althanea as Willow gave a small smile while the older women leaned forward, "we will augment Niko's mystical training, but we will begin with the basics, and then we will go on from there."

"Neat," replied Willow nodding her head.

"Now," said Althanea, "show me what you can do using your telekinesis."

Willow smiled as she slowly got up, and lifted herself slightly off the floor before coming back down again; she then mentally lifted a cup before putting it down gently, and then she mentally picked up the chair she was sitting on earlier. The redhead then crossed her arms out in front of her and concentrated as an orange shield, the length of her arms, formed in front of her.

"That's it," said Willow, "at least without the badge."

"What can you do with the badge?" asked Althanea, "in terms of your telekinesis."

"A larger shield," said Willow as she lay her palms on her thighs again after sitting down, "but that wipes out the Alpha radiation charge in the badge much faster. She could even absorb the strength of people she's holding on to, using that strength to power the shield but it weakens whoever she's holding. Then, Niko was able to fire telekinetic blasts using the badge… heck, she helped destroy some large Sphinx thing that was fighting her and Ariel when the Megamind took over Xanadu and…"

"The who now?" asked Althanea.

"The Megamind was an enemy of the Circle," said Willow, "a very powerful being that the Circle trapped away in a mind-space singularity… it's kind of like a powerful prison. But somehow he escaped, took the entire Circle prisoner; he used them as a power source while Ariel escaped to Earth to find Niko."

"How'd she escape?" asked Giles.

"Intergalactic teleportation using magic," said Willow as she remembered Ariel showing up tired in a flash of light in front of Niko, Zachery, and Q-ball, "it's really cool. But Niko wasn't able to do that, I mean she hadn't been trained, but I guess she preferred flying in Ranger-1."

"Ranger-1?" asked Giles who was surprised that he was finding about all this now. And then he came to the realization that while he had asked Willow about her new abilities, he hadn't really dug deeper into who Niko was and what experiences Willow had gained.

"The Series Fiver rangers' ship," said Willow excitedly, "she could fly a Ranger Interceptor too… think a larger fighter jet, except in space with hyperdrive technology."

"Oh," said Giles.

"And that's where the whole deception thing came into play," said Willow, "they worked as a team where Ariel used Niko's body as a disguise, and she made Niko look just like her. That way, the Megamind… which wanted to fight Ariel, so that he could get rid of the greater threat before going after Niko who he knew as Ariel's apprentice."

"So he attacked Ariel," said Althanea.

"Who was really Niko in disguise," said Giles as Willow nodded her head.

"Yeah," replied Willow, "and then when the Megamind used the majority of his powers on Niko, who was disguised as Ariel, she lost her disguise and Ariel… I mean the real Ariel, then attacked Megamind after losing her disguise as Niko. Get it so far?"

"Yes," said both Giles and Althanea together.

"So she defeated Megamind?" asked Althanea.

"He was still too powerful," said Willow, "but Ariel held him off while Niko put on a device. You see, one thing I kinda forgot to mention was that the Megamind followed Ariel to Earth where he kidnapped the leader of the Series Five Rangers, Zachery Foxx. The Megamind kidnapped him so that Niko would got to Xanadu to rescue him… he wanted to add Niko and Ariel to his collection of the captured Circle members who were giving him power. Anyway, while he was attacking Ariel who was using a shield to protect herself, Niko put on the device; a remote control for activating Zachary's bionic arm."

"Interesting," said Giles, "bionic… as in?"

"Robotic arm," said Willow, "when he presses his badge, the Series Five implant in his brain channels powerful energy into his left arm. He then points and shoots; his arm cannon has got enough power to take out a fully armoured tank… which he did. Anyway, I activated the arm using the remote while he was unconscious, and fired at the Megamind who was distracted. That ruined his concentration, and freed the other Circle members who gathered their power and imprisoned the Megamind again.."

"Very interesting," said Althanea, "this Circle of Thought seems to be a very powerful group."

"They were," said Willow, "but they didn't like to interfere as a group in the affairs of other planets… which was understandable, I guess."

"Thank you for telling me this," said Althanea, "knowing about you and Niko would help me greatly. I say we start immediately, that is if you're up for it?"

"I am," said Willow.

"From the basics then," replied the older woman.

 **Sunnydale High Computer room, 0800 hours; Present day.**

Usually Willow would wait for Buffy and Xander at the entrance, and then head for class. This time though, the redhead was imagining her first meeting with Althanea at Giles' house following the incident with Angel. As she headed to the computer lab, Willow wondered about Miss Calendar's reaction last night, the redhead wondered how Miss Calendar knew that she should get away from Angel; that was the one thought that was bugging her as she walked past her locker while looking a tall of the other students walking past her.

Once Willow went home after Oz dropped her off, she went up to her room and closed her windows and her curtains. After what happened, she wanted to stay at home and think about the danger that Angel… or Angelus… could cause while she meditated. However, before she could sit on her bed and perform her meditation, Willow called Althanea and asked her if she knew anything about the curse that gave Angel his soul.

"I also need a way that would revoke a vampire's invitation into a home, Althanea," said Willow softly into her phone. The two of them talked for a few more minutes before Willow told Althanea that she was going to get some meditation done, and that she'll see her tomorrow, "oh, umm… about the curse? Maybe you could talk to Giles about it?"

It was around six in the morning that Althanea called Willow before she had to go for her work at the Sunnydale Mercy Hospital as a nurse. She told the redhead about the people behind the curse after she contacted her people in Devon who had just come back to her with their research.

Willow suspected that Miss Calendar was connected with the gypsy clan known as the Kalderesh.

And it was while she was thinking about recent events that Willow entered the empty classroom where Miss Calendar was handing out some assignments onto the sides of the computers for the students who were due to arrive in thirty minutes.

"Willow, hey," said the I.T teacher as she placed the last of the paper on the table at the back row while Willow looked back over her shoulder to make sure that there was no-one there before she closed the door, and then turned to face Miss Calendar who was headed back to her desk, "are you okay? I know last night was a harrowing ordeal and.. and I have to tell you that I was scared to sleep without a cross and some holy water under my bed.

"It was kind of scary," said Willow nervously; the truth was that she was terrified as she thought about the evil version of Angel. She fought alongside Buffy and Angel as Nighthawk in previous nights, but the Angel from last night was a different creature. Willow could feel the evil coming off him… extreme evil.

Willow shuddered as Miss Calendar placed her hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"I mean, I was lucky that you were there," said Willow.

"He still held you hostage until that… what's Xander calling the mysterious girl? Nighthawk?" asked Miss Calendar as Willow nodded her head, "until she and Buffy arrived and drove Angel off."

"Yeah," said Willow as she sat down across from Miss Calendar; it was then that Willow realized that she needed to try and pretend being the nervous, mousy girl to get Miss Calendar at ease, "ummm… actually, I… I was just wondering how you knew that I was gonna be in danger."

"Huh?" asked Miss Calendar while she looked at Willow, who was hoping that her favourite teacher would admit that she knew about the Kalderesh curse, or that she could be one of the Kalderesh, "it was just luck, Willow. Just a feeling I had."

"There was nothing else?" asked Willow as she put her hands on the table in front of her and started playing with her fingers, "I… I mean it was pretty scary and.. I guess I must have felt some wrong but since he was Angel I still went to him when he called me and… what I mean is that, you know how you get this chill up your spine when something's wrong?"

"Yea," said Miss Calendar.

"I kind of got that from him," said Willow, "but you weren't scared and…"

"Oh, I was," said Miss Calendar as she leaned forward and put her hands on her table as well, "I had this feeling too and, and that's why I asked you to walk away from Angel."

"But that's the part that I don't get, Miss Calendar," said Willow nervously, while internally she was hoping that she'd get an answer soon, "you didn't hesitate when you called for me, I mean if you were there for a little while like me and…"

"Are you saying I knew that Angel wasn't himself?" chuckled Miss Calendar, "Willow, what happened was a very traumatic thing last night for all of us… and yes, I do carry a cross with me always because, well… this is Sunnydale."

Willow knew that she wouldn't get the answer she wanted, so she tried a different approach; a twisted version of the truth.

"Thanks for trying to save me, Miss Calendar," said Willow with a smile as the older woman nodded her head, "anyway, once I got home I checked the internet for anything on spells that take away souls."

"Okay?" asked Miss Calendar as she leaned forwards.

"I did some digging for four hours," said Willow, "and.. I mean there's not a lot of stuff on there, and my search parameters were a bit hokey. But there was one name that kept coming up, Kalderesh. Supposedly there's a rumour that this gypsy clan could be capable of a spell to restore souls, but it also said that there's not a lot of them left anymore. I tried looking for details on the spells and.."

"Willow," interrupted Miss Calendar, "you shouldn't go off looking into spells on your own. Whatever this is, it could be dangerous and… and I'm sure that if it was this Kalderesh clan that cursed Angel, then they did it for a very good reason."

"Maybe," replied Willow as she noticed teh momentary look of fear on Miss Calendar's face, "but why make it that he'll lose his soul somehow? I mean… it doesn't make sense, you know. Were they helping him by giving back his soul, or were they punishing him for something that he did."

"Maybe it's something that we'll never know, Willow," said Miss Calendar as Willow shrugged her shoulders and smiled slightly.

"I guess," said Willow as she got up from her seat, as did Miss Calendar, "I just wish I could do something to help Buffy, you know?"

"Me too," replied Miss Calendar as she looked down at the table, and then back at Willow as she picked up her backpack, "she loved him a lot?"

"Yeah," said Willow as she looked at Miss Calendar, "umm.. Miss Calendar, you know you can tell us anything, right?"

"Yea," came the reply.

"I'll… umm… go get my stuff from my locker," said Willow as she gave a small wave to the I.T teacher as she headed towards the door, "see you in the library? We still have the whole Judge thing to deal with and Xander said he had an idea last night to stop him before we were interrupted. Oh… oh, and maybe you could help me looked for more information on the Kalderesh? I mean I'm sure that there's gonna be some who still exist and…"

"I doubt it," said Miss Calendar, "but yeah, I'll help you."

"Neat," said Willow before she nodded towards the door, "anyway, should get going.. you know how it is… class, class, and more class."

"I'll see you and the others in the library," said Miss Calendar as Willow nodded her head before closing the door behind her. The redhead then walked down the hallway while she frowned to herself.

'She's hiding something,' thought Willow to herself when she remembered the facial expression that existed on Miss Calendar for a few seconds when she mentioned the Kalderesh, 'means she's heard of them before. Then I mentioned helping me search for any living Kalderesh. Ummm.. she knows something she's not telling us, I'll go see Giles after my first class."

While Willow was walking away, Miss Calendar leaned against the door and sighed as she rubbed her forehead. She then looked up at the empty room and wrapped her arms around her front.

"Willow knows something," said Miss Calendar softy before she turned around and opened the door, she then peeked her head outside. When she saw Willow making a left turn into another hallway, Miss Calendar stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her while thinking to herself, 'if Willow keeps digging online, she'll find something. No.. my background's been changed but… Willow's pretty stubborn when it comes to telling her not to search for something. She'll get even more suspicious… and even without my help, she'll find something. There's fifteen minutes until the first bell, I need to find Rupert and get ahead of this… forgive me, Rupert… Buffy. You're not going to like what you hear.'

After Miss Calendar closed the door, she hurriedly walked through the hallway and made a right turn into the same hallway where Willow had made a left. The I.T teacher was heading towards the library, and she hoped that Giles would understand why she had to keep her real duty in Sunnydale High a secret.

'I'm sorry,' thought Miss Calendar to herself as she rushed up the central staircase to the second floor, and towards the library.

TBC.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sunnydale High Library, 0820 hours.**

Giles was contacted that very morning at his home by Althanea after she talked to Willow, and the witch discussed with the Watcher the reason that Willow contacted her last night. She told Giles about the Kalderesh, and about the ritual that would revoke a vampire's invitation. Right now, he was sitting at his table reading the books that Althanea told him to read in regards to the ritual while he was writing down the ingredients he needed. He was about to close his books so that he could go out and gather the materials he needed just as Miss Calendar walked in nervously with her hands playing with each other as she held them in front of her body.

"Jenny," said Giles smiling as he stood up; a smile that vanished, replaced by curiosity etched on his face when he realized that Miss Calendar looked worried, "Jenny, what is it? Please, sit down."

"No," said Miss Calendar as she shook her head and waved her hands, "ummm… listen, Rupert. You know I care for you deeply, right?"

"Of course," said Giles as he furrowed his eyebrows while watching her acing the floor on the other side of the table. It was after a few second that she stopped and looked at Giles before shaking her head.

"There are things about my past that you need to understand," said Miss Calendar, "it's… Rupert, my past is complicated and if I don't tell you now, then you'll hear it from Willow and.. I mean you won't hear it from Willow and… damn it!"

Giles was stunned at Miss Calendar's reaction before she up her hand on her forehead. He took one step closer to her, but she put up a hand, telling him to just stay where he was. Giles saw her take a deep breath before she started pacing nervously, and then stopped again, looked at Giles; and started to speak.

"Last night," said Miss Calendar, "Willow went home and checked the internet for curses that remove souls; or at least for curses that can re-ensoul the soulless."

"Like vampires," said Giles while thinking to himself that Willow told Miss Calendar a little white lie.

"Yea," said Miss Calendar, "she came up with a name common to all of her search queries, the Kalderesh."

"Oh?" asked Giles as he tried to looked surprised as he recalled Althanea saying that same name that morning over the phone, "and she…"

"She came to me about something she noticed last night before you and the others arrived," said Miss Calendar as she began pacing the floor again, "something that I told her I… look, I lied to her, Rupert."

"How so?" asked Giles while he continued to look on, this time in genuine confusion since Willow hadn't told him about what happened while Xander was away later night.

"Because last night," said Miss Calendar, "I.. I knew what Angel became… I knew he lost his soul when I came to the school and saw Willow walking towards him… I knew that… and…, Rupert?"

Miss Calendar saw the man looking behind him with his mouth open. She hadn't heard the door open behind her, but she heard the thud of a backpack falling on the clean, wooden, floor; and all she could do now was watch Giles take off his glasses and place them on the table while he looked behind her, and then back into her eyes. Miss Calendar closed her eyes and steeled herself for the inevitable confrontation with the girl who loved a vampire. She opened her eyes and turned slowly to face the fast approaching Buffy who grabbed onto her neck while Giles shouted and tried to hold his Slayer back. But the blonde was too strong as she tightened her grip on Miss Calendar's neck and held her down on the table after pushing some of the books away.

"You knew?" asked an outraged Buffy as she glared at the I.T teacher while Giles was holding onto Buffy's arm and telling her to stop, "you knew about Angel and you didn't say anything?"

"Buffy!" shouted Giles as the Slayer looked at her watcher, "let her go; I for one would like an explanation."

"Talk," said Buffy as she let Miss Calendar go and stepped back, her hands rolled into fists as she glared at the I.T teacher.

"My birth name was Yanna Kalderesh," said Miss Calendar as she sat up while rubbing her neck, "I was sent here to make sure that you didn't fall in love with Angel, Buffy. I… I didn't know what was going to happen… I… I didn't know that the curse would lift with.. with…"

"What?" asked Giles as Miss Calendar looked at him, and then at Buffy.

"One moment of pure happiness," said Miss Calendar as she noticed the stunned look on Buffy's face, "if he has one moment of pure happiness, he loses his soul. He murdered my people's favourite, they punished him for it.. as long as he had his soul, he was punished. But if he didn't feel his punishment anymore, if he was happy…. Then the curse would be lifted and he'll become Angelus again."

"And… and you saw me and him…" said Buffy as she shook her head from side to side, "you saw me and him and… and you couldn't tell us?"

"I didn't know how it would be lifted, Buffy," said Miss Calendar as Buffy wrapped her hands around herself and took another step back, "I.. I was only supposed to watch you and… and I…"

"It's my fault he's Angelus?" asked Buffy as she looked at Miss Calendar.

"Yes," she replied nodding her head before she looked away.

"Wait, how is it your fault?" asked Giles, "what could you have done to… oh."

Giles realized what happened when he looked at the anguish on Buffy's face; she gave Angel pure happiness.

And he didn't need to know the details.

"I'm sorry," said Miss Calendar, she knew it sounded hollow, especially now after the fact that Angel lost his soul. But she was at a loss for words. She looked at the glare from Buffy, and then heard Giles softly say that she should leave so that he could talk to Buffy.

Miss Calendar nodded her head before she walked past Buffy who turned and gripped her arm in a vice like hold. Miss Calendar flinched at the pain as she turned and looked at Buffy who told her to re-ensoul Angel; that it was her people who did it, which meant that it could be done again.

"Those magiks are lost, Buffy," said Miss Calendar, "even to my people. We.. we can't do a thing."

"Then what good are you," said Buffy in anger while tears gathered in her eyes, "what good…."

"Buffy," said Giles as the Slayer glared at Miss Calendar before walking past her and, picking up her backpack, before rushing out of the doors. It was a few seconds later that Miss Calendar mumbled 'sorry' to Giles before walking out of the door herself while aware of the fact that Giles wasn't coming after her.

 **Willow's Room, three weeks later.**

The Scoobies had defeated the Judge thanks to quick thinking by Xander who admitted he retained the memories and knowledge of soldier guy. He was able to steal two missile launchers from the Sunnydale Army base which was later used to kill the judge. Willow was there with the Scoobies, minus Miss Calendar, who was ostracised by a very angry Buffy. As Willow was talking on her phone to Buffy after a day of Angel stalking her placing drawing of her, and her mother, in her mailbox since he was disinvited from the Summers home. Joyce was told by Buffy to never let anyone who was looking for her in, not even to get a package, or mail. So Angel smiled while putting the two envelopes while she was asleep. That was nearly a day ago, and while Willow hated to think it, she was glad that Angelus wasn't coming after her.

Following the revelation that Miss Calendar had known about the curse, Giles had privately told Willow that she needed to be extra careful. He told the redhead that Angelus was the most cunning, evil, intelligent, and devious vampire the world had ever known.

"If you still want to continue being Nighthawk," Giles had told her that night, "then you need to be as you used to be as Willow. You could show a bit of confidence here and there, but the shy Willow needs to shine when you're in school, or any time out of costume."

"I understand, Giles," Willow had said three weeks ago.

"I don't think you do," said Giles as he looked worried at the redhead, "Angelus can smell you and.. and I know your scent's hidden from vampires and demons, but there's the body language. The way you walk, the way you hold yourself, your facial expressions…. Willow, you need to be the Willow before Niko came into your life when you're not wearing the mask."

"I will," said the redhead as she realized that Giles was right. She knew that she wasn't playing a game, and everything that was a part of Niko that was in her screamed at her to listen to Giles, that she needed to be careful. And she had been careful every night she was out with Buffy, silently helping her; she was careful when OZ turned to a werewolf at his home when Willow, frustrated that he still hadn't made a move on her, arrived to ask him if there was something wrong with her. She gave a scream when he doubled over in pain and transformed in front of her eyes. She used a burst of telekinesis and pushed him against the wall when the werewolf leapt at her, she then ran out the back way. And kept on running, mindful that anyone... especially Angelus, could be watching from anywhere outside the home. Willow remembered looking behind her as the werewolf chased her, she remembered jumping over a fence using her own arms and legs to pull her up and over the fence, and then everything faded away… she was that stunned at what was happening. The last thing she remembered was shooting the werewolf with a tranquilizer dart. At the end, while Oz believed that there was no way that Willow would want to be with him after finding out what he was, he was pleasantly surprised when it was Willow who broke the ice first and kissed him in the quad before walking away arm in arm.

"I'm a werewolf in love," was what Oz told Willow as they walked away together.

Then a few days later came her acceptance letter to meet with Dr. Robert Lee at Caltech on his Alpha Radiation research. She received permission from Snyder, who was thinking how high he'd be held in esteem if even one of his students got admitted to such a prestigious institution. The day that Willow left Sunnydale for Pasadena, was the day that, as she found out after returning, Xander made a love wish that went horribly wrong; instead of making Cordelia, who broke up with him that day which happened to be Valentine's day, fall in love with him; the wish made every woman in Sunnydale lust for him. So much so that he had to fend off throngs of women, young and old… including Buffy and her mother, away from himself and Cordelia who was unaffected, and was nearly killed by one of the Cordette's.

It was something that Willow knew she would make fun of for a long time.

"I wonder what I'd have done," she told him over the phone after she returned from Caltech after having secretly used her telekinesis while the good professor was looking away from her to attach her badge to the underside of the device that was being used for his research. While she was being shown some of the research that he, and some other scientists were carrying out, the redhead hoped that the badge would automatically charge itself just as it did when Niko would step into the charging plate at B.E.T.A, and the energy would go through her and into her badge. After her return, Willow told Xander another exciting piece of news, "oh, oh, I got to tour the Jet Propulsion Lab…. It was so cool."

Back in the present, Willow sat on her bed while she continued to talk to Buffy. She had just got back from helping Buffy and the Scoobies with some research, but the two of them still had a lot to talk about Angelus. Willow narrowed her eyes when she noticed a brown coloured envelope at the end of the bed while Buffy was talking about getting Joyce out of the city until they did something about him. Willow wanted to say, or at least the part that was Niko's frustrations wanted to say, that Buffy had the opportunity to kill Angel back in the mall the day they destroyed the Judge. Buffy told her that she had the perfect chance, but she believed that they could help get his soul back.

And since that day, people had died.

But Willow kept silent, she couldn't give away her frustration. She loved Buffy, but Willow knew that the Slayer's feelings for Angel was getting in the way.

Sighing, Willow cautiously walked over to the edge of the bed and picked up the envelope and walked towards her aquarium so that she could feed her fish while talking to Buffy. She nodded her head at something Buffy said while she felt numerous small, soft, lumps inside the envelope. Narrowing her eyes, she looked inside the envelope and saw her dead fish looking back at her. She gasped and threw the envelope onto the floor, it was a gasp that Buffy heard.

"Will?" asked Buffy into her phone as she suddenly sat up straight on her bed.

"I… I'm ok," said Willow as she calmed her voice while looking at the envelope on the floor, and then she looked around her room, and her eyes went wide open at her barely open closet door, a door she always kept shut. It was then she realized that she was talking to Buffy when she walked into her room, and she never noticed it… until now.

"I stubbed my toe, Buff," said Willow as she rushed to her closet, and opened the door before stepping back with her eyes wide open, "I.. I gotta put some ice on it and… and I'll call you back."

"Sure," replied the Slayer as she hung up the phone, while Willow threw the phone in her hand to her bed. All the while, she was looking at her costume that was nailed to the inside of her closet door with another brown envelope attached to the jacket.

'We disinvited him,' thought Willow to herself as she reached for the envelope on her Nighthawk jacket, 'how did he get in.. and… Oh God!'

Willow was looking at the name on the envelope that she was holding; it said 'To Willow' and it was written in blood, blood that was already dried. Willow tore open the envelope and read the letter inside with trembling hands.

 _My dearest Willow,_

 _Do you know the most common thread between any superhero? Don't rack your pretty little brain, the common thread is tragedy. The death of a loved one; it's the classic origin story. Since you like being a hero, although you do have to tell me the trick about the double Willow that night, I'll help you along with your origin story. Would it be mommy or daddy dearest? Giles? Buffy? Xander? Jenny? Or how about Oz? Or maybe Mrs. Summers? So many choices, Willow. But don't worry, I'll make a hero out of you._

 _P.S: I suggest thongs with your costume, you'll be more delicious._

Willow threw the letter to the floor and ran to her bed and picked up her phone. She called her mother's cellphone and hoped that she and her father were already in Santa Barbara for their conference. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Sheila Rosenberg's voice, the young woman then asked her if she and Ira were doing alright after the plane trip.

"Of course we are," said Sheila, "we're set to leave for dinner and… oh, there was a man who came by in the evening while you were with your friends. We were just leaving, but he said something about a gas leak in our neighbour's house, and he needed to check ours just to be on the safe side. He said it would only take a few minutes, so we let him in while we packed our things into the cab. He left only five minutes later saying that everything was fine… anyway, we have to go Willow. We'll see you in three weeks."

"Oh, right," said Willow shaking her head, "you guys are going to Rome."

"Yes," said Sheila, "we'll talk about your planned visit to MIT when we get back."

"Yes, mom," said Willow as the other line was cut, "love you."

Willow put down the phone and realized that Angel must have been the one who came in for the so-called emergency gas leak. The redhead knew there were too many people that Angelus could hit, so there was only one thing she could do; there was no other choice. Willow ran to her desk, and opened her drawer. She had taped the badge underneath the top drawer so that no-one, especially her mother and father, could find it. She reached down and ripped the tape off and held in in her hand.

'Thank God, it's fully charged,' thought Willow to herself as she closed her eyes and thought of Angel, 'here we go.'

Willow pressed the badge and felt her implant power up after the Alpha Radiation from the badge flowed to the Series Five implant in her head. Suddenly, Willow gasped as she felt her powers increase while access her clairvoyance abilities. She saw Miss Calendar running through hallways while Angelus was chasing her. Willow could see the fear written on Miss Calendar's face as the redhead glimpsed at a wall clock behind the running woman. Willow then saw her look down the stairs behind her, Angelus wasn't chasing her anymore. Miss Calendar ran up two more flights until she was at a landing that faced a large window that looked out to the parking lot at the front of the school. Willow eyes opened wide as she watched Miss Calendar run into Angel, who laughed as he grabbed her head, and then twisted it backwards.

"Now she's a hero," said Angel as Willow's vision ended and the redhead locked her jaw in anger before throwing her badge on her table. The redhead then turned around in anger and raised her hand before forcing the nails off her costume, and then pulling it towards here. She looked at her clock as she took off her jeans and put on the tight ones knowing that she had twenty minutes before Miss Calendar died. She then put on her jacket, and zipped it up before she put on her belt and the collapsible steel baton, and pepper spray. Willow then rushed to her phone with fifteen minutes left and called Giles to tell him about the vision she had.

"I'm heading to the school now," said Giles as he rushed to his weapons chest, "I'm going to call Buffy and…"

"No," said Willow shaking her head, "Angel broke into my room and left me a message, he threatened Joyce, Xander… everyone I care about. I need Buffy to stay at home with Joyce, if Buffy;s away, then he'll send some of his goons to attack her. I need you to stay home… I'm just telling you what's happening as a heads up. I'll bring her to you, Giles.. I swear to you that I'll get her out. I…"

"I'll meet you at the school, Willow," said Giles curtly as he took out a crossbow, and a cross. He then threw the phone down as he rushed out of the door.

"Damn it," said Willow as she put down the phone and then put on her gloves, and then her balaclava, and finally her goggles. She then rushed to her window, jumped out, and flew towards the school, "no one's dying today. No one."

TBC.


	13. Chapter 13

**Madiss Hotel, Santa Barbara.**

Sheila Rosenberg just put down the phone after having talked to Willow. She then looked up at Ira, who was in a suit and tie, before telling him that it was about time they left. That they had about fifteen minutes to get to the dinner being held for the attendees of their conference.

"It's going to be at the reception room on the twentieth floor of this hotel, Sheila," said Ira with a frown, "we've got the time to just take it easy."

"That's true," said Sheila with a sigh.

"How's Willow?" asked Ira as he looked at the reflection of his wife, who was walking towards him, in the mirror.

"She sounded worried," said Sheila as she stepped up next to her husband, "but you know our daughter, she won't share things with us and…."

"That's because we haven't been there for her," replied Ira with a hint of regret on his voice.

"We're doing everything we can to give her a future," said Sheila as she stood next to Ira and looked into the mirror, "she's learning the value of being independent, and not to rely on us. She'll thank us one day, you'll see."

"Maybe," said Ira as he tuned and then walked towards the side table, and picked up the phone while Sheila looked at the reflection of what her husband was doing and shook her head. She saw Ira pick up the phone, and then dial a number; after a while he placed the receiver on his ear. Unknown to him, Willow had only just flown out of her room when the phone rang back in the Rosenberg household.

Willow missed that call.

"Willow," said Ira as the answering machine picked up while Sheila walked towards him, at the same time mouthing that they had to go. Ira nodded his head while putting up a hand, signalling his wife to give him a minute, "Willow, this is dad. I guess you must be taking a shower or studying. Just wanted to say that your mother and I are heading for our dinner, and… and know we love you. We'll see you in three weeks, Willow."

"Let's go," said Sheila as Ira put down the phone.

"How did she sound when she called you?" asked Ira as he looked at his wife.

"Just worried," said Sheila, "you know our daughter, Ira. It's nothing, come on… she'll be fine just as she's always been fine. She's a Rosenberg, she'll be stronger because of what we're doing."

"I suppose you're right," said Ira as he walked towards his wife, "but I can't shake this feeling that there's something wrong."

"She'll be fine," repeated Sheila as she reached for the doorknob. As she turned the handle, they could hear footsteps running down the hallway. Opening the door, the both of them stepped out into the hallway, and then immediately gasped and stepped back to get out of the way of a young couple who were running to the room three doors away from them. Sheila, who had her hand on her chest due to the surprise, and Ira saw them open their door while kissing each other. After the couple went into their room, the older couple closed their own door.

"What happened to us?" asked Ira as he turned to the other side of the hallway with Sheila after the young couple closed the door behind them, "we were like them once."

"We grew up," said Sheila as they continued walking down the hallway, "besides, Willow was conceived in a hotel the day of our graduation."

"True," said Ira as they headed for the elevators, "lets never ever tell Willow about that."

"Agreed," said Sheila as the both of them got into the elevator, and headed for the dinner.

 **Devon's house, at that same time.**

Oz was in his room packing some clothes; the Dingo's were preparing to go to Los Angeles for four gigs. He wished that Willow would have been able to go with him, but he knew that she had her own life too… and that she couldn't take a break again from school. He missed her when she went to Pasadena, and regretted saying 'no' when she asked him to go with her.

"It'll be our first trip together," said Willow a few days before she received permission from Snyder to have the day off, "I mean... if you want to go with me that is. I'll understand if you say no and…"

"I can't," said Oz and his heart broke when he saw the sadness on Willow's face, "it's not because I don't want to, the Dingo's have a gig lined up at the Bronze for the entire night."

"Oh," said Willow, "right… I kinda forgot you told me."

The smile that Willow gave him that day put a smile on the present Oz's face as he continued packing. He remembered her saying that she'll bring him something, which she had. He loved the shirt she got for him, as well as a JPL embossed guitar pick the redhead got for him. He recalled just looking up at the stars with Willow on top of his van while they lay together.

He knew that he loved Willow.

And Willow loved him.

He could just stare into those emerald eyes for the rest of his life, and he'd be content.

Oz was just about finished packing when he heard a thud from the living room right outside. He was living with his bandmates since they had to leave around three the next morning, and it was better that they all stay together before a gig so that they could practise one last time, and then stay together before heading off at the same time. Oz suspected that Devon, the lead guitarist, dropped something. Oz walked out of his room to ask if everything was alright. The young man suddenly stopped in the living room when he saw Devon and Adam, the drummer, lying on the floor dead. Their throats were sliced open and blood was flowing down into the carpet. Oz then looked up at a woman who had her vampire face on and was looking at him with her head tilted.

"The king of the princess of the night," said the woman, who Oz saw had sharp fingernails that were dripping with blood, "daddy has a message for you and your princess."

Oz quickly turned around and headed to his bed where he kept a cross underneath, Willow had told him to place it close to him while he was travelling; and he stored it underneath the bed he would be sleeping on for emergencies. He also had a bottle of holy water, and a stake; but none of them mattered since the woman was faster than he was and knocked him off his feet by flinging him to a wall.

Oz had the wind knocked out of him as he slipped down to the floor, and from his vantage point he could see the cross under the bed. It was so close as he reached out for it, but his face twisted in pain when the woman stepped down on his wrist, breaking it. The woman then kicked him until he was lying on his back and looking up at the lopsided grin and the madness in the eyes that were looking back at him. He was grunting in pain as the woman then knelt down and then felt a hand around his neck.

And he felt numb, he couldn't move as he stared into her eyes.

"Hell is coming to this world," said the woman with a crazed look in her eyes, "your princess will fall, and my daddy will rise to rule hell. Goodbye, prince. Angel will make a hero tonight."

He saw the woman leaned forward before she bared her fangs. Oz then felt the woman biting down into his neck, he felt his life leaving him as the woman drank his blood. The only person he could think about was Willow, the last thing he saw in his mind before he died was Willow's face. He felt her touch, her lips when they kissed. He tried to remember the details of her face, her smile, her eyes, her hair, he tried to remember every part of her. As his life left him, Oz had flashes of images going through his mind of the two of them getting married, having children who were not werewolves. He imagined how their lives could have been, a mixture of the normal and supernatural. He saw how their lives could have played out in his dying mind before closing his eyes.

And then, there was nothing else.

Just blackness.

 **Sunnydale High, five minutes later.**

It took Willow five minutes to get to the school through a mixture of using her telekinesis to fly, and her magic to hover around the school so that she could search for Miss Calendar. She needed to find where the I.T teacher was at that moment, and then get her out of there. Willow hovered around the school with her magic, a technique that Althanea taught her… it was a way to take the telekinesis out of the equation so that she wouldn't get her headaches. However, Willow found that using magic to fly was uncontrollable... that she was finding it difficult with magic. So Althanea told her to use her telekinesis to fly, and to hover using magic. That way, she keeps the tactical high ground if she starts getting a headache. Then once the headache passes, she could transfer control to her telekinesis and start flying again.

Back over the school, Willow went around the school one more time, but she couldn't see any lit classrooms. With a frown on her face, Willow lowered herself to the school's entrance and used her telekinesis to unlock the door. She then ran inside; once inside, she ran as fast as she could to the hallway she saw in her vision. After hovering around the school for five minutes, Willow knew that Miss Calendar would pass that particular hallway in five minutes… and she was going to be right there.

Willow was going to make sure that Angel failed, he was not going to kill her.

"I am not going to be a hero born out of tragedy," whispered Willow to herself as she ran as fast as she could.

As Willow was running down the halls, she didn't see a white car being parked in the parking lot facing the school's main entrance. She didn't notice Giles get out of the car quickly with a crossbow and a cross in hand before he ran up the stairs, past the front lawn, and through the doors. If he had been thinking straight, he would have known something was wrong since the doors were already unlocked.

But all he could think about was keeping Miss Calendar safe.

Back in her I.T room, Miss Calendar was looking on with fear in her eyes before she ducked, missing the thrown Orb of Thesula that was thrown at her by Angelus. The Orb, used to contain a soul that was called back from the ether, was smashed against the wall above her. Miss Calendar's heart fell as she realized that the only way to retrieve Angel's soul, the key ingredient she needed, was gone. She looked for a way out while Angelus was gloating, she pushed against the classroom door.. but it was locked. She then ran to another door, but Angelus was faster as he grabbed the screaming teacher, and then slammed her into the main door… knocking it off its hinges.

"Someone's going to be a hero tonight," said Angelus with the corners of his mouth turning up as he watched Miss Calendar groaning in pain before scrambling to get up. He watched Miss Calendar get onto her feet before she ran down the hallway with Angelus stepping over the fallen door while watching the teacher look of very her shoulder before running, "I feel like a chase before dinner, run little rabbit… run."

Miss Calendar ran as past as she could. She looked over her shoulder occasionally to see Angel jogging behind her chuckling as he looked directly at her. Shaking her head, Miss Calendar ran even faster. She felt her legs burning as she ran into the colonnade that led to the other building. She ran as fast as she could in the dark while hearing Angelus' footsteps running behind her.

"You're done," chuckled Angelus as Miss Calendar reached the closed doors to the other building at the end of the colonnade. She pushed on them with tears in her eyes as she realized that she would die today. She would die without ever having fixed her mistakes.. without having told Giles again that she loved him, she would die without giving back Buffy what was taken away from her, she would die without being forgiven by the Slayer, and she would die without seeing Giles one more time. She continued pushing the door in a like a maniac when it suddenly opened.

"Noo!" shouted Angelus as Miss Calendar hurriedly opened the door, and the ran into the lit hallway, and then shut the door behind her. She took a few steps back after she turned around to see Angelus with his vampire face activated; he glared at where while his nostrils flared, and a snarl escaped his lips. Miss Calendar then turned around again and ran as fast as she could while hearing the door behind her open, and rapidly moving footstep coming towards her. She was running towards a janitor's trolley when she heard running footsteps coming towards her from a flight of stairs, the same flight of stairs that she was heading towards. She lost her footing, falling onto the floor, as she suddenly stopped when a figure in jeans and a black jacket ran down the stairs and then turned towards her direction once she entered the hallway. Miss calendar saw the one the Scoobies referred to as Nighthawk run past her while extending a baton, and the teacher got up and took a step back as Angelus went to punch the costumed figure. Instead, Miss Calendar watched Nighthawk slide on her knees as she went below that punch, and then went back on her feet once she was behind Angelus. She then saw Nighthawk swing the baton at the back of Angelus' knees with a 'twack' sound, leading him to stumble back onto the floor while growling as Nighthawk jumped back slightly before swinging her baton down hard across Angelus' face. It all happened in seconds as after the third strike with the baton, Angelus grabbed Nighthawk's hand and swung her towards a wall.

Miss Calendar looked around the hallway and saw a fire extinguisher in a glass case. She ran to it while she looked behind her and saw Angelus fling Nighthawk to another wall before he rushed towards the teacher. However, Miss Calendar shattered the glass using her elbow as Angel stopped mid-stride while Nighthawk was slowly getting up. The teacher took out the extinguisher while an unseen force slammed Angelus to the ceiling, and then turned him around mid-air and slammed him onto the floor. Miss Calendar saw Nighthawk nod at her as she pulled the pin from the extinguisher before it was pulled out of her hand, and then smashed onto the floor as Angelus rolled away. But as he was about to stood up, the metal extinguisher was slammed into him before Nighthawk pulled the metal tube back, and then slammed it towards him again. This time, Angelus grabbed the tube in mid-air and pushed it away while running at Nighthawk.

Willow was angry… angrier than she had ever been since Angelus was now attacking them directly. She saw the hit coming, but she was too slow to move as his fist connected with her face; however, she slammed a telekinetic wall into him just as she was reeling back from the punch. Angelus hit the door that he came through to this hallway hard while Nighthawk stumbled from the force of Angelus' blow before she rushed and stood next to Miss Calendar protectively. It was then that they heard another set of footsteps behind them.

"Angelus!" shouted Giles as he reached the hallway, turned, and then shot an arrow at the vampire. Nighthawk saw the arrow flying away towards Angelus, and she gave it a little push. Even so, the vampire smiled and moved to one side, the arrow just missing him.

"Giles, Nighthawk," said Angelus as he wiped the blood from the side of his mouth, "such a nice name that… Nighthawk… right? Willow?"

"Willow?" asked Miss Calendar as she looked at the figure in black, she then noticed Giles glancing over at Nighthawk while he was still reloading another arrow. Mentally talking the arrow, and the rest of the arrows in the bag that Giles was carrying, Nighthawk then shot them all towards Angelus who chuckled as he opened the door, stepped outside and closed it… using it as a shield before peeking his head into the hallway again, the rest of his body behind the door to protect him from the wooden arrows.

"A bit angry, are we!" exclaimed Angelus as he looked at Nighthawk who pushed Giles and Miss Calendar behind her, "I know who you are Willow, a little girl who thinks she can become a hero. I read up on Niko's abilities… I took some time, but I saw you fight alongside Buffy a few times in costume. You think I can't tell who you were then? Angel was an idiot too… never thought to check up on the mysterious chick who suddenly dropped in after Halloween after you showed that similar power in the library? You have telekinetic powers in Halloween, and then after Halloween, there's this mysterious dark figure with similar powers. Buffy, and Xander are idiots not to see it. But your secret's out, Willow… remember what I told you? The message I left on your costume? Did you like it? Inspiring don't you think? Now that you are a hero… I just wonder if you can continue to be one. I'll see you soon, Willow…. You'll be mine soon enough. Your clairvoyance is something I'll have. Ah, you and Buffy, there's a threesome I can get into."

Willow rolled her fists tight as she lifted the arrows again just as Angelus ran into the colonnade, closing the door behind him. The redhead remembered the letter that she received on her costume that night, she remembered the names on it.. and what it said about heroes needing a tragedy. Her heart started to beat faster as she looked back at Giles, and then at Miss Calendar who looked back at her and shook her head.

"Take her home, Giles," said Willow who spoke underneath the mask.

"Willow?" asked Miss Calendar, "is that you?"

"Take her to you apartment, Giles," said Willow ignoring Miss Calendar before she turned and ran towards the exit, the same way that Angelus went through, "I need to check on something."

"Willow!" said Giles.

"Take her home! Keep her safe!" shouted Willow just before she got out of the hallway, and took off into the air. She went as fast as she could towards Xander's house, and then once she was there, she used magic to hover over his window. He saw the young man in his room, talking on the phone. She stayed there for a few more minutes before heading to her home which was close to Xander's house. She called her mother's cell phone without checking the machine, and was relieved when Sheila picked up the phone. Willow could hear people speaking in the background, and guessed that they must still be at the dinner.

After telling both Sheila and Ira that she was asleep and had a nightmare, the redhead let them go.

Willow then flew out of her home and went over to Buffy's house where she used her magic to hover over Buffy's window. After noticing that Buffy wasn't in her room, Willow hovered around the house until she saw that Buffy and Joyce were in the living room watching TV. Willow then flew to Oz's home, she hovered over the house and saw that some of the lights were on.. but there was no movement inside.

Her heart racing, Willow lowered herself to the back door of the house. She used her gloves and twisted the knob, but she saw that it was locked. The redhead then used her telekinesis to unlock the door, and then she opened it after taking off her googles, and balaclava, and stuffing them into her jacket pockets. Stepping into the house, Willow covered her nosed and closed her eyes… she knew this smell… or at least Niko knew this smell.

Death.

She continued walking past the kitchen and into the living room where she saw both Devon and his friend dead, blood already soaking into the carter.

"Oz?" asked Willow, her voice breaking as she imagined the worst whiles she cautiously walked towards the young man's room, "Oz?"

Willow walked through the door, and then stopped. Her blood froze, and her heart started to beat faster as she looked at the pale body lying on the floor behind the bed. She could only see part of the feet, and the shoes.

But she recognized the shoes.

Oz's shoes.

Willow slowly walked around the bed as tears welled up in her eyes. It was when she saw Oz's pale face, and the two marks on his neck did Willow open her mouth and covered it with both of her hands before she stumbled back against the wall. Once she hit the wall, Willow started to sob as she slipped down on the floor while she rested her forehead on the palm of her hand.

The man she loved was dead.

And it was her fault. Willow looked at Oz's body while she was sobbing, saying sorry between breathes. Sorry that he knew her, sorry that they had gone out, that if he hadn't met her.. then he'd be alive.

"Forgive me, Oz," said Willow, "please forgive me."

It was thirty minutes later, that the still sobbing Willow got up to her feet and then stumbled towards the door. She couldn't be there; she couldn't be there with her dead boyfriend's body… she just couldn't. As she got to the door, she came to a horrible realization as she turned around again and looked at a part of Oz's body.

'He could have been turned,' thought Willow, horror etched on her face as she thought about that implication. A demon taking over the man she loved, a monster walking with the skin of her love. She couldn't have that…. She couldn't have that because if she did, she'd never forgive herself. She couldn't have a vampire take over Oz's body.

Willow closed her eyes and mentally closed all of the windows in the house. She then looked at the body one last time before she walked to the kitchen. Willow looked behind the stove, and telekinetically broke the gas line. She could smell the gas as she ran out the backdoor. She put on her balaclava and googles to hide her tears, and her anger, and her shame at what she was about to do.

Willow rose into the air and flew all the way home where she retrieved her badge. She then flew back to Devon's house and hovered using her magic. She had already calculated on the way back to her house, and on the way back to Devon's house in regards to long it would take for the gas to permeate the small house before she used her magic to hover right above it.

Now all she needed was a heat source.

With tears in her eyes, and her bottom lip quivering at what she was about to do, Willow pressed her Rangers badge. She felt the Alpha radiation go into her Series Five implant, increasing her gifts, as she gathered energy around her fists. She could feel the heat from the swirling energy as she lifted her arms forward while she increased her altitude and then placed a telekinetic shield all around the small house so that debris does not fall into the neighbour's homes.

"Goodbye, my love," said Willow with a broken voice as she fired off multiple bolts of energy into the house. She closed her eyes and dropped her arms as the entire house exploded, the shield she placed around the house keeping the debris inside. Willow opened her eyes to see the shield flaring multiple times from the debris hitting it. It was a few seconds later that the shield failed just as she felt the badge run out of its Alpha radiation charge… a charge that went to covering the entire house with a shield. With tears in her eyes, and her heart beating fast Willow saw the fires around the property and she knew that nothing survived. A few seconds later, she saw people coming out from the neighbouring houses while others were shouting for someone to call the fire service.

All Willow could do was fly away with a heavy heart as she gripped the badge in her hand.

She felt tired. She felt weak. All Willow wanted to do was curl up somewhere and just die.

As she landed outside Giles' door, all she saw was Oz's face in her mind.

She took off her goggles and balaclava and knocked on Giles' door. She stepped back as Giles opened the door with a surprised Miss Calendar by his side as she looked at Willow up and down.

"Willow?" asked Giles as the redhead's face twisted in anguish as she broke down before ushered in by Miss Calendar, with Giles closing the door behind her.

TBC.


	14. Chapter 14

**Giles' House, 2200 hours.**

Miss Calendar was following Giles who had placed the sobbing Willow's arm around his shoulders. The I.T teacher couldn't believe that it was Willow, the mousy Willow who had been Nighthawk all this time. She had so many questions but she pushed all of that to the back of her head as she rushed ahead of Giles and Willow before she cleared the couch, leaving one spare cushion at the end as a makeshift pillow while Willow sat down sobbing before she lay sideways facing them. She then pulled her feet up to her chest and rolling up like a ball. She then started to mumble that 'Angelus killed him' repeatedly as she shook her head, her tears travelling sideways down her face and staining the pillow under her head.

"Willow?" asked Giles as he crouched down while Miss Calendar was looking at the crying young woman, "Willow? Who did Angelus kill? We were with him and…."

"He killed…. He killed…," said Willow as she closed her eyes and swallowed before opening then again, "he killed Oz, he killed Oz."

"Will…" said Giles with his eyes opened wide while Miss Calendar stepped back and put her hands over her mouth and gasped, "are… are…"

"He made me… Giles," said Willow as she closed her eyes while her body shook, "Angelus made me a hero… he finally made me a hero."

"I don't understand," Giles shook his head as he placed a hand on Willow's arm to comfort her. Willow looked at Giles, and then at Miss Calendar while she repeated that Angelus wanted to make her a hero.

"He killed someone close to you," said Miss Calendar as Giles looked up at her, "the classic way a superhero is formed in the comics; Batman loses his parents, Superman loses his planet, Spiderman loses his uncle… tragic loses that define a hero. I'm so sorry Willow."

"I saw his body," said Willow softly as the tears dried up while she was still lying on her side, "he was dead… I thought he could be turned so… so I used my powers and blew up… oh God, I blew up the house. He's gone… Angelus killed him... he's gone… he's gone."

Giles just gently squeezed Willow's arm as he looked at Miss Calendar, and then back at Willow who was looking out into space.

"This is my fault," said Willow softly, "I wanted to do this and…"

"Willow," said Giles, "it's not…"

"I played hero and he died," said Willow softly while she was looking off into the distance, "he died because of me, it's me.. my fault. I'm so tired, Giles… so very tired… so much my fault, so much my fault."

"Sleep, Willow," said Miss Calendar as she stroked the top of Willow's head, "we're right here."

"Sleep," whispered Willow nodding her head as she sighed, "Giles… Angelus came into… my house. Please… please use spell and…"

"I will," said Giles as Willow closed her eyes, "I'll set up the dis-invitation spell again."

"Sorry, Oz," said Willow as the hand that was gripping her badge tight, loosened and it fell onto the floor with a 'clang' sound, "come… back."

"Willow?" asked Giles as he felt for a pulse, and sighed in relief when there was one. He then looked down at the gold coloured badge and then picked it up, and looked at it while brushing his thumb over the word 'Ranger' before he stood up with Miss Calendar standing next to him, and then looked at the badge, and then at Giles' face, "I… I need to call Buffy and the others, and…"

"Rupert," said Miss Calendar as she rushed behind him while he placed the badge in a drawer at a side table and then reached for the phone. Miss Calendar hadn't been talking a lot on the drive to Giles' home… she was shocked about the revelation of Nighthawk being Willow, and the fact that Angelus had targeted her because of what she found to restore his soul.

And she needed to let Giles know.

"Rupert," said Miss Calendar as he started to dial Buffy's number, "I know how to restore Angel's soul."

"Oh dear lord," said Giles with his eyes wide open as he looked at Miss Calendar, and then at the sleeping Willow, and back to Miss Calendar again as he placed the receiver back on the cradle, "but…."

"Somehow Angelus knew what I planned to do, Rupert," said Miss Calendar as Giles stepped back and placed a hand on the top of his head, "but I had the entire ritual on the computer, I have the ritual of restoration… I mean I had it. I don't know if Angelus will get back to the school and destroy everything that was in the room... I mean I'd wait until we left before making sure everything was destroyed. It was meant as a surprise for Buffy, Rupert. And if Angelus is so adamant about not being re-ensouled then… then this is the perfect punishment for him, Giles. Dusting him is too easy for him, Buffy gets Angel back… and he gets his soul along with the fact that he murdered Oz; Willow's boyfriend. This is why my people cursed him, Giles… he's going to hurt for what he did and… and maybe that is the best thing to do."

"Drusilla must have tipped him off and he ambushed you at the school," said Giles, "that's the only way that Angelus must have known. Do you still have that ritual somewhere?"

"I saved it onto a disk," said Miss Calendar, "but I need to check on the lab. Like I said, he may have doubled back and tried to destroy what I had in the computer room. Hopefully he didn't."

"We'll go to Willow's house first thing tomorrow morning," said Giles as he looked at the sleeping Willow, and then at Miss Calendar, "we'll do the ritual to keep out Angelus and any other vampires, and then we head to the School to search for this disc of yours. How long will it take to…"

"Angelus destroyed an important ingredient," said Miss Calendar, "it took me a few days to track down the one that he destroyed. An orb of Thesula."

"Oh," said Giles perking up, "I actually have that in the library… I've been using it as a paperweight."

"Okay," said Miss Calendar shaking her head, "if the disc is still there, I'll need a few days to get the other materials, we can do it the day after tomorrow if we can get everything in time. Re-writing the Ritual shouldn't take too long."

"Alright," said Giles, "although I do believe that Willow will have a lot to say about this. In the meantime, I shall call Buffy and the others. Give them the terrible news. And then I need to call a friend of Willow's, Althanea."

"I'll stay with Willow," said Miss Calendar recognizing the last name but unable to place it for now. She knew it was a question for another time; as well as the questions she had about how Willow became Nighthawk. All of those questions took a back seat as Miss Calendar sat on the floor next to the redhead, and brushed her fingers through Willow's hair.

 **Sunnydale High, The next morning.**

The news had travelled fast in Sunnydale High as Willow walked through the hallways to her locker. Her eyes where just looking forward as she walked in a shirt and ankle length skirt that belonged to her mother; Giles had brought her home that morning with Miss Calendar, and by then news had broken about the explosion, as well as the identification of three burnt bodies; with one of them being Oz thanks to the Police department coming to that conclusion by the virtue of the van parked in the driveway being Oz's van.

Giles was doing the dis-invitation ritual while Miss Calendar was watching the news at Willow's house; and the redhead herself was in the shower sobbing as she thought about what she did.

She destroyed the house to make sure that her boyfriend didn't come back as a vampire. All she knew was that if he was going to come back as a vampire, then he would have done so, and he would have been ashes from the fire. Walking out of the shower, Willow went to her closet and opened it. She reached for her hanging clothes and then she remembered that Angel must have rifled through her closet before finding her jacket and her 'costume'. The redhead closed her closet door and stepped back, refusing to wear her clothes since it was possible that Angelus touched them all. She looked around fond nothing to wear, so she walked out of her room wrapped in a towel and went into her parent's room. Willow went to the closet knowing that she and her mother were a size up, so Sheila's clothes would be a bit looser.

But Willow didn't care.

She wore a shirt and a skirt, telling herself that she needed to get something new on the way back from school. Willow then walked back down with her backpack and looked at Giles who had just finished the dis-invitation ritual. Miss Calendar had turned off the TV by then and walked up to the bottom of the staircase. The redhead had woken up early that morning, and heard both Giles and Miss Calendar talking about the Ritual of Restoration. She didn't tell them that she was awake and heard everything before she finally got up when Giles told Miss Calendar that he talked to Althanea, but she wasn't going to do anything without talking about it with Willow. Willow heard Giles tell Miss Calendar that Althanea was still working at the hospital, but she could feel Willow's anguish; and that she'll agree to help only if she agrees.

"Do it," said Willow softly as she slowly sat up and looked at Giles and Miss Calendar, "I don't care."

And she didn't care as Willow reached her locker. The redhead opened it and saw a picture of herself and Oz as people walked past behind her. She looked away from the picture and then took out some books from the inside… the while time she felt as if Oz was looking right back at her from the picture. Willow grabbed a book and then looked at Oz's picture while she was hearing the familiar 'click-clacks' of a certain Slayer's shoes, followed by the whispered voices of Xander and Cordelia.

"Will?" asked Buffy as Willow looked at Oz's picture, closed her eyes, and then sighed before closing the door and looking at the three of them, "Giles told us last night and… I'm so…"

"Don't say you're sorry," said Willow as she glared at Buffy, it was something that Buffy hadn't seen before from the redhead, "don't you dare say you're sorry."

"Will," said Buffy, "I…"

"You had a chance to kill Angelus," whispered Willow, "you had a chance and you didn't take it; so don't you dare say that you're sorry."

"I think we should just cool it and…" said Cordelia as Willow shook her head and stepped back.

"No," said Willow as she put her hands up, "you killed him Buffy, you killed him and you're getting rewarded for it. Just… just leave me alone."

"Willow," asked Buffy as she watched the redhead turn around and walk away. She was about to walk after her since what just happened seemed so out of character for the Willow that she knew, but it was Cordelia who stopped her, instead telling Buffy that she'll go talk to Willow.

"You?" asked Buffy.

"Yeah," said Cordelia, "you know she told you the truth, you had a chance to kill Angelus, and you didn't. I get that you love the guy, or at least who he used to be but… that's what happened. And she just lost her boyfriend… the only boyfriend she had in her life. So… yeah."

"I could talk to her too, you know," said Xander.

"But this is a girl thing," said Cordelia as she walked backwards and then turned before running after Willow who was walking away with her head down.

"Let's get to Giles," said Buffy as she looked at Willow as Cordelia came up to her, "I wanna know what's going on."

"Buffy," said Xander as he looked at the Slayer, "you know that she's…"

"She's right about me letting Angel go," said Buffy, "but it's complicated."

"He's still a vampire, Buff," said Xander as he walked with Buffy towards the library, "he became a monster after he lost his soul."

"I know I made a mistake," said Buffy softly, "but I've never seen Willow like that before."

"I've known her entire life, Buff," said Xander as the two of them stopped and looked at each other, "she had a crush on me for a long time, I know that. But she loved Oz, and then to lose him like that… she's angry."

"How long?" asked Buffy.

"I don't know, Buffy," said Xander as he and Buffy looked at Willow and Cordelia walking away.

"I'll make it up to her, somehow," said Buffy softly as Willow turned a corner with Cordelia into another hallway, "I'm sorry, Willow."

 **The Rosenberg Residence, 1800 hours; two days later.**

For the past two days, Willow had been purposely missing Buffy and Xander's calls by screening their caller I.D numbers, she had been avoiding them at school, although she couldn't avoid them for the test that they had earlier that day… a test interrupted by a vampire that seemed to have been sent by Angelus to send a message for Buffy.

But Willow didn't care.

The only calls she answered when she got home was from Giles who kept Willow apprised of what was going on from the problem with the swim team the day after Oz's death, to the return of Kendra the previous day since her watcher said that there was a dark force rising in Sunnydale; that a demon called Acathla was going to be brought forth to the real world. He told Willow that Buffy agreed to Angel getting resouled again, which made Willow snort before apologizing to Giles.

She told him about the talk that she and Cordelia had after the day after Oz's death, that everyone had a part to play in his death; from Buffy herself, to Willow, to even Giles. They had all included his in their Scooby activities, and of course he was automatically a target because he was Willow's boyfriend. Willow remembered Cordelia being brutally honest with her that she should get off the 'depression train' since Oz knew the risks of the life he was involved in, and he accepted it.

"Yea, Buffy didn't kill Angelus," Cordelia had told her in an empty classroom after they walked away from Buffy and Xander, "that's on her, but you wanted to get into this fight too… you wanted to help her, Willow. I mean secretly help her, but still help her fight. You told me just now that Angelus could tell who Nighthawk was, that was a risk you knew about. And I know you told me about the letter he left you, and that was the danger that you put yourself in too. You think I like being a target? I'm just glad that Xander's… well, Xander. If he had your powers, then I'd be a target. Willow, you did what you could… so did Buffy. Wrong or not, disgusting or not, she loves Angel. And she'll do what she has to save him from Angelus.. but I think she knows about the blood on her hands after she let Angelus go after the mall."

"I can't get rid of my anger, Cordy," said Willow as she looked at Cordelia, "I admit that maybe Angelus didn't kill Oz, but he's the one who encouraged it. One way or another, it always falls back on Buffy."

"I know," said Cordelia, "but you have to move on, Willow. You just have to; you can't remain depressed like this."

Back at her home, Willow was floating above the bed meditating. She had just received another call from Giles telling her that he needed her there to protect Althanea who was going to be doing the spell. HE told Willow that he understood how upset and depressed she was, but what they were trying to do was save the world. He told her that Angel wanted the world gone to hell, literally; and that they needed Willow help while Buffy was going to meet with Angel, and distract him long enough that the ritual works and her gets his soul restored. Giles told Willow that he'd like for her to be there, that even with Kendra remaining.. they needed more people to protect Althanea.

"And she asked for you, Willow," said Giles as Willow frowned.

Back in the present, Willow was meditating above her bed when her alarm went off.

It was seven in the evening as she opened her eyes and lowered herself to the bed. She looked at her Nighthawk costume on the floor and was about to wear it as she got off her bed when she suddenly stopped. She stood up straight and shook her head before she wore some of the newer clothes she bought; she had kept her old clothes and intended to fry clean them all to get rid of Angelus' stink. The redhead had a feeling of dread that she couldn't shake as she changed while looking at herself in the mirror, and then at the picture of herself and Oz that used to be in her locker. There was something that was gnawing at the back of her mind, telling her to take the picture back home.

Willow looked at the mirror after she had put on her clothes, and smiled at the grey haired old woman in the green and silver jumpsuit who seemed to be standing next to her.

"Hello, Ariel," said Willow as she looked at Niko's mentor.

"Willow, my dear," said Ariel, "you going through something that Niko's also gone through as well, she lost a lot in her life.. but she would always grow stronger after overcoming her grief. You still have grief in your heart, Willow. And you will overcome it, and you will become stronger for it. You have my teachings, you have the teachings of the Circle, and you have Niko with you in terms of her experiences and knowledge; use them all for what's coming, my dear. You will overcome Oz's death, and you will be stronger. Now go, Willow… and remember. I am always with you."

"Yea," said Willow as Ariel vanished, and then she looked at Oz's picture, "I love you, Oz."

Before Willow left for the High school, she made a call to her parents who were on a flight to Rome, so she left them a message. A few seconds later, Willow put the phone down, and then she climbed out of her window and flew towards the school.

TBC.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Just a warning that part of this chapter contains references to torture and sexual assault. I've tried my best to hold this off from being an 'M' rated chapter. Hope I've done just that.

 **Sunnydale High Library, 1900 hours.**

Buffy was standing to one side, leaning against the counter, with Kendra by her side as they watched Althanea, who described herself as a friend of Sheila and Ira Rosenberg, who had recently hired her to guide Willow through some tough times and, unknown to them, was also a practicing witch. Buffy knew what Althanea told her wasn't true; the older woman was hiding something. But with Willow still mad at her, the blonde Slayer didn't want to push anything. Despite Kendra was telling Buffy the fact that Angelus' calling the blonde out was a trap, Buffy's mind was far away… she was thinking back to the night that she received the call from Giles.

Buffy was watching TV with Joyce when the call came in. The blonde Slayer remembered going to pick up the phone, and cheerfully answered it, since they were watching a comedy and they only just had laughed at a particular scene. However, the laughter and smile on Buffy's face vanished when Giles told her that Willow came to his house, after having seen Oz's dead body. The news made the stunned Buffy drop her phone before she held a hand to her mouth and collapsed onto the wall behind her. Joyce noticed her daughter gasp as she dropped back against the wall, and then looked at Buffy in concern before she got off the couch. Joyce picked up the phone, that was lying on the carpet, as Buffy slid down to the floor in stunned silence with Joyce talking to Giles about what had just happened.

Back in the library, Buffy shook her head before telling Kendra that she knew it was a trap, but she'd keep Angelus distracted for long enough while Althanea performed the ritual, which, the two Slayers were told, would take about thirty minutes. It was about that time that the library doors opened up and Willow walked in, Buffy and the redhead glanced at each other before Willow looked away and walked past her.

Kendra then looked at the sadness on the face of her sister Slayer and placed a hand on her shoulder, she had heard from Xander what happened to Oz and how upset Willow was; and that she hadn't talked to them ever since that day. Kendra whispered to Buffy, as they stood by in the library, that it would take some time. She told Buffy that in the end, she'd have her friend back.

As Willow stopped next to Cordelia and Xander, she talked to the both of them while trying to hide how troubled she was about certain details about her visions. Visions that had kept coming true so far. She remembered the details of the visions she had the day she cut her hair, and she had a feeling that something was about to happen tonight. But she didn't know what it was going to be; she remembered the vision of Angel growling in her dream and knew that it wasn't Angel she saw, it was Angelus. Then she remembered the orange colored vortex, and her skin crawled. As much as she hated to admit it, she guessed that Angelus had something to do with the vortex… and he needed to be ensouled again to prevent it. Willow then walked over to Giles, who had just come out of his office, before Buffy called them all to order.

"It's going to take me ten minutes to get to that cemetery," said Buffy as she looked at everyone, "I'll keep Angelus occupied while Althanea finishes the ritual…. Ummm… how do I know if it's worked?"

"You'll know," said Althanea as she looked at Buffy, who then looked at Willow, who was looking at Cordelia. Buffy then put her head down before turning to Kendra and Xander, asking them to look after the others.

"Giles," said Buffy as the older man walked towards her, "I know you already said this was going to be a trap… and I know you said Nighthawk contacted you with the reasons she couldn't fight with me for the past few nights, but… but have you been able to get her to come help you guys here?"

"She's out of contact, Buffy," said Giles gently while Kendra noticed Cordelia looking at Willow again, as did Althanea while the Redhead looked away and then sat down on the stairs, "but I can try calling for her again using a spell and ask her to help you and…"

"No," said Buffy shaking her head, "I can take care of Angelus, I just needed her here as back-up in case… in case I fail to stop Angelus. If he kills me, then he could come here and.. and I'd feel better having Nighthawk with you guys."

"I believe we will be able to handle it," said Kendra as she glanced at Willow, who was looking back at her before looking back at the floor. In the meantime, Kendra told Buffy that she should get going; reminding the Slayer that the ritual itself would take thirty minutes, and she had twenty minutes to get there, and then keep Angelus distracted for another ten minutes, "we will begin the ritual immediately ."

"But if you see nothing after thirty minutes," said Miss Calendar, "then…."

"I know what I need to do if it doesn't work," said Buffy as she looked at the I.T teacher, and then at Willow who was still looking away from her. Buffy still gave a small smile at her friend before she turned, reached down on the watch around her wrist, and activated the stopwatch function. Buffy then ran through the library doors knowing full well that no matter what happened that night, Angelus' reign of terror would be ending tonight.

Once Buffy left Kendra walked towards Willow, and then sat down next to her. The both of them sat in silence while Althanea got the ritual ready.

It was ten minutes later that everyone was holding a stake while surrounding Althanea who had begun the ritual. Willow was standing next to her mentor, while Cordelia was on the other side with Miss Calendar, and Xander, and Kendra near the counter. They were prepared for anything when the back windows suddenly crashed inwards. Willow turned and saw four vampires breaking in, while another four rushed in through the rear doors, and another four ran in through the front doors.

"Willow!" shouted Xander as she smirked at the vampire who had just jumped over the second floor railing to the main floor, "get them out of…"

Xander didn't finish what he wanted to say when he was knocked down to the ground, but before he fell; he saw Willow deftly avoid the vampire that was heading towards her before kicking at the side of its head. As he fell with his eyes wide open at the moves that Willow was making, martial arts moves that he had seen only Buffy make, Xander heard a growl before he looked up at the vampire who was soon kicked off him by Giles.

"Get up, Xander!" barked Giles as he fought the vampires while another vampire knocked Althanea off the table, and she fell onto the floor with a thud. Willow used her telekinesis to push another vampire into the vampire who was fighting with Xander, who looked on in surprise as Willow turned around and flipped one over her shoulder, before telekinetically knocking the one who was about to bite Cordelia out of the library doors.

Willow knew that they were outnumbered, that even with her telekinesis, and Kendra's abilities… there was only so much they could do.

"Cordelia!" shouted Willow as she threw her house key at the young woman , before putting all the materials for the ritual into a bag, including the Orb of Thesula. Willow then used her telekinesis to send the bag to Althanea while she was fighting another vampire, "take your car, and get Althanea, and Miss Calendar out of here."

"Wi.." said Cordelia who watched Willow fight, the redhead dusting the vampire before looking at the dark haired young woman..

"Go!" screamed Willow pointing at the rear door as a vampire pushed her down onto the floor before she used her telekinesis to slam him to the ceiling while mentally picking up her stake, and then shooting it into the vampire's chest. Willow got up to her feet just as the vampire and the stake turned to dust before she got up and then ran with Cordelia, Althanea, and Miss Calendar to the rear door, backed up by Xander, who was covering their retreat by keeping away the other vampires. It was just after the three of them left when Willow heard a snap behind her. She then turned around to see Xander screaming from a broken arm. She then noticed out of the corner of her eyes as two vampire pushed the book stacks towards her, the stacks falling one by ob on top of the other like domino's.

Willow saw the stack about to fall onto her and she just managed to put up a telekinetic shield while she heard the fight on the lower level still going on. Willow could hear Kendra and Giles continuing the fight while books from the angled stack that was threatening to fall onto her rained down around the redhead. She looked at the two vampires opening the door, that led to the hallway out of the school, and used her telekinesis, that was already being taxed, by holding up four extremely heavy stacks that were partly on top of each other, while she was pushed down to her knees.

Willow used what power she had to hold the two vampires still. They had just gotten through the threshold into the hallway when they stopped midway. The redhead could feel blood trickling down her nose as she screamed and pulled the two vampires towards her. They impacted Willow hard, and pushed her out of danger while the stacks fell onto the two vampires.

"Xander!" cried Willow as she hurriedly got off the floor and slid over to the young man. She then kneeled in front of her friend, who was groaning in pain, before she looked up and saw Giles and Kendra still fighting; or rather Kendra was surrounded while two vampires were holding onto both of Giles' arms, with another one punching him across the face, and then into the abdomen. Willow looked back down at Xander, who was looking back at her through narrowed eyes, and told him that she'll be back.

Xander reached out for Willow with his good hand, however the redhead was already jumping over that railing, and was right behind Giles. She then used her telekinesis to push away the one who was punching him. She then jumped onto the back of the one holding Giles' left arm, put her arm around his neck, and squeezed as hard as she could. That action let the vampire loose his own grip on Giles, who then punched the one holding onto his right hand. He then punched the vampire again before pushing him away. Giles then rushed to the table, where his stake fell down earlier, and picked up the weapon. He then turned around and dusted the vampire that had been holding him, before he turned and staked the vampire that had Willow on his back. Willow then fell onto the floor before standing up.

At the same time, Xander was slowly getting onto his knees, while cradling his broken arm. He looked down at the broken arm and winched from the pain before he looked up; all he could do was watch helplessly as Willow and Giles joined forces with Kendra in fighting the vampires that surrounded the Slayer.

Xander watched as Willow bopped and weaved before kicking out and punching the vampires; to him… it seemed like she had been doing that for her entire life. He saw Willow wave her hand as two vampires were pushed back by an unseen force, before noticing that she was grimacing and rubbing her head after every wave. His eyes opened wide when the remaining vampires pulled back just as Angelus and Drusilla walked into the room.

And Xander's heart fell like a stone.

'Buffy didn't make it,' thought Xander to himself as he glared at Angelus.

"Didn't I tell you it would work, Dru?" said Angel as he looked at Willow and Giles, and then at Kendra, and then at Giles again while laughing, "all I had to do is tell poor Buffy to meet me alone somewhere, and she'd go. So full of hope that she'd get her Angel back in time."

"I still have the taste of dog on my lips," whined Dru as she loked at Angelus, and then at Willow, whose jaw set as she glared at Dru with her hands forming into fists. "Now who will I have to get that taste off my tongue and lips?"

"Where is Buffy?" Kendra demanded to know, all the while ignoring Drusilla's whine.

"She'll be a bit late," laughed Angelus, when he suddenly stopped, turned his vampire face on and glared at them through yellow eyes, "of course, one of you will be my message to her… of how she failed. And of how Willow is a failure."

"Come, come!" cheered Drusilla clapping her hands as the vampires, which had retreated earlier, now rushed back at them.

"You killed him!" screamed Willow as she glared at Angel and Drusilla before she waved one hand after another, flinging Angelus to one side, and Drusilla to the other side. She was slammed onto the wall before she slipped to the floor, as was Angelus. Willow saw that Giles and Kendra were able to handle the vampires that were attacking them. They didn't notice Willow, panting in anger, walk towards Drusilla, who was getting up before she was slammed onto the ground by Willow waving her hand. Willow then looked over her shoulder, while blood was trickling down her nose, and slammed Angelus against the library ceiling, and then slammed him back onto the floor, before slamming him through the library doors to the hallway outside.

"You'll be mine later," Wilow whispered at the doors that were flapping wildly after Angelus was pushed through them, while she mentally pushed Drusilla against the wall. Willow then looked at Drusilla, the redhead's lips pressed together in a straight line, as she flicked her hand to the side and then placed Drusilla's arms against the wall, telekinetically holding them against the wall. Willow's face started getting red in anger when Drusilla said that she liked it when Oz begged her to spare his life, and that the only person's name to come out of his lips just before he died was Willow's.

Willow screamed in anguish as she rushed towards Drusilla and grabbed her neck while looking at the area around the table and then noticing a stake lying on the floor while the others were still fighting. Willow put up one hand and pulled the stake to her telekinetically as Xander was getting up to his feet. He saw the stake flying into Willow's hand, and then the redhead looking at Drusilla while pulling her hand back.. she was finally going to avenge Oz's death; first Drusilla, and then Angelus.

She didn't care about anything else anymore.

"Willow! Don't look into her eyes!" cried Giles before he punched a vampire, and then staked it. Kendra had dusted two vampires as well and heard Giles' cry, making her turn around to see Willow looking into Drusilla's eyes.

Willow had heard the shout too, but it was already too late. Her entire body went numb while she watched from the corner of her eyes that Xander was running towards her, only to be tackled by another vampire. However, Willow couldn't take her eyes off Drusilla, it was like she was mesmerized . She looked at Drusilla's eyes, her whispering lips, and then at her two fingers in front of the redhead's face. Willow could hear screams from a distance, followed by Giles calling out for her. The redhead felt her grip on the stake loosen before it fell to the floor. She heard the door behind her open, but everything felt faraway as Drusilla turned Willow's face to watch what was happening.

She saw Angelus pushing away the vampire that was punching Xander, who was lying in the floor. Willow heard Angelus' laughing before he kicked him in the abdomen. Willow heard Angelus, it seemed as if they were very far away, telling Xander, who was curled up as Angelus continued to kick him on the face, the chest, and then the abdomen again, that he was letting him live so that he would tell Buffy that she lost. That all their hope was lost. Willow teared up as she watched Angelus mercilessly beating Giles, who fell to the floor bleeding, as Kendra ran up to Angelus and started to attack. Willow saw Drusilla laughing maniacally while clapping at the fight between the Slayer and the vampire; Willow wanted to use her powers on Drusilla.. tear her head off instead of torturing her like she wanted to.

But she couldn't.

It seemed as if she couldn't remember how to use any of her powers.

All Willow could do was watch as Angelus scored a heavy hit on Kendra and knocked her down to the floor. Willow saw Angelus break her arms; the Slayer screaming in pain before Angelus grabbed her by the neck and then picked her up again. Angelus turned Kendra towards Willow, who could only look on helplessly, as Drusilla walked in front of the redhead from having stood right next to her. Drusilla then murmured to Willow in a gentle voice that reached into the redhead's mind… forcing Willow to obey her.. to remain in her thrall.

"You can do nothing," said Drusilla in a sing-song voice, "remember, you don't have power, and you cannot move. You will watch, princess."

And then Drusilla smiled before she turned around and walked towards Kendra while Angelus was standing behind the Slayer whose arms were just simply hanging lip by her sides. Willow saw Angelus looking at her while he sunk his teeth into the left side of Kendra's neck, followed by Drusilla sinking her teeth into the right side. Willow felt tears going down her face as she watched Kendra die. Drusilla stepped back once she was done, and then looked at Willow while wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

There was a sickening 'crack' that reverberated throughout the walls as Angelus broke Kendra's neck before letting her body fall to the floor.

"We have what we came for," said Angelus as he looked at Willow, and then at Giles, with a grin plastered on his face, "we just wanted Giles, but Willow's going to be one of our greatest coups. But first… I'll break her in; pay her a little back for hitting me."

"But your soul…" said Drusilla as she placed a hand on Angelus' chest. She suddenly grabbed her head, and said that she was getting messages from the stars themselves.

"What are the stars telling you, Dru," said Angelus as he brushed the back of his fingers against Willow's cheek before looking at the mad vampire.

"The others are protected," said Dru, "they intend to begin the ritual again."

"Well then," said Angel as he Drusilla, and the others surviving vampires took Willow and Giles back to his car, "let's bring hell to Earth before I get my soul back."

 **Sunnydale High Library, ten minutes later.**

Once Buffy had killed the fifth of the six vampires who jumped her at the cemetery, she tackled the last one to the ground, turned him around, and then rained punches down on him until he was a bleeding mess. She then grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him up before demanding to know where Angelus was at that moment. As Buffy ran towards the school, she remembered the vampire's laugh before he told her that she was too concerned about getting Angel back that she lost her way. That she was doing what Angelus had planned… and she fell for the ruse.

Buffy had seen the police cars with blinking lights as she ran back to the school. She screamed at the police who tried to stop her that her friends were inside.

But they couldn't hold back a Slayer.

She dashed into the hallway with two policemen after her, and then she ran into the library where she collapsed onto her knees at the sight of Kendra lying dead on the floor.

"What the…" frowned Snyder who looked at the stunned Buffy and then he shouted at the police officers. "Get that troublemaker out of here, she's the one who probably…"

"I just came in here, you troll," exclaimed Buffy as she got up off her knees, incensed, and rushed towards Snyder who stepped back while the police officers held her back.

"See… see…" said Snyder, pointing at her, "see what kind of a delinquent she is and…"

"Sir," said female police officer, pointing at Snyder, and then turning and pointing a finger at Buffy, "Miss… calm down, or the both of you are going to be spending the night at the station….. got that? Good, now Miss….. where were you?"

"I was at home, on the way here, I was supposed to meet my friends, Xander, Kendra… the.. the one whose body your friends are covering, Giles, Cordelia and…. Oh God where are they?"

"As far as we can tell," said the officer, "this was a gang attack… listen, I need you to make a statement outside. And then you can visit Sunnydale Mercy… your friend Xander's been taken to hospital."

"Fine," said Buffy as she turned around, but not before taking one last look at Kendra, and then having her face twisted in despair as she thought about being the one and only Slayer once again. And now she had people she cared about missing, Xander was in the hospital, and the others should be either at one of their homes, or with Angelus.

And she didn't want to think about what Angelus would do to them.

Not wanting to waste any time, Buffy made her statement, and then a call.

 **The Rosenberg Residence, ten minutes since the end of the fight at the library.**

With Willow's house defended against vampires, Althanea was beginning to recreate the symbols, used for the ritual on the dining table, from the supplies she had with her. While she was continuing, the phone in the living room started to ring, and the women looked at each other… all wondering the same thing; if this was Ira and Sheila Rosenberg calling for their daughter.

Shaking her head, it was Cordelia who rushed to the phone, and sighed in relief when she heard Buffy's voice. The young woman gasped when Buffy told her that Xander was in the hospital and that Kendra was dead. On the other line, at a payphone outside the school, Buffy asked who else was with Cordelia. And it didn't take too long to discover that Willow and Giles were the only ones missing. Buffy asked Cordelia to ask Althanea if she knew a spell to find Willow; she waited for a few minutes before Cordelia came back to the phone and gave her the location where Althanea's location spell claimed Willow to be.

"Damn," said Buffy before she thanked Cordelia, and nodded her head when teh cheerleader told Buffy that they were going to try the ritual one more time. "Do it, I'm gonna get Willow, Giles, and Angel back."

Buffy then ran as fast as she could back towards the school. She crept into the library where the police had already left after taking away Kendra's body. She jumped in through the window, looked around, and then ran to Giles' office before taking a sword.. a sword that was blessed by the same virtuous knight who had defeated Acathla all those years ago.

Once she had that sword in her hand, Buffy silently climbed out of the library window she came in through, and ran towards the Crawford Street Mansion.

 **Crawford Street Mansion, twenty minutes later, ten more minutes for ritual's end.**

Spike was in his wheelchair as he looked at Willow who was chained to the wall, and was getting beaten by Angelus with glee. Spike had been surprised to find out that Willow still had the power that defeated him back on Halloween. He was especially surprised given the fact that she had let him bite her months ago. Now he knew that it was all a trick, one part of him relished the beating that Willow was receiving as she fell onto the floor bleeding. But another part of him feared the hell that was coming if Angelus should succeed with his plan. He had originally planned to steal himself out of the mansion and make contact with Buffy to help in stopping Angelus from opening the door to hell, and in returned for helping Buffy find where Giles and Willow were located... he was going to promise that he and Drusilla were going to leave Sunnydale.

That the Slayer wouldn't hear from him ever again.

But he couldn't make a move now, because if he did.. the others would know he was tricking them in terms of his paralysis, and he'd loose Drusilla forever. Spike was surprised at the ferocity of the beatings that Angelus had been giving Willow, it was as if Angelus knew he had limited time, and he wanted to cause as much damage as possible.

Spike watched Angelus pull Willow by her hair to her feet, and then he pushed her against a wall while holding his hand towards Spike.

"Hey, rollerboy," said Angelus as he squeezed Willow's throat while her arms were chained to the wall, "get me the poker I put in the fire."

Spike knew what Angelus was preparing to do, and the bleached vampire wanted to see Willow scream for humiliating him all those months ago. Spike heard Angelus mocking Willow as he picked up the white hot poker that they had placed in the fireplace immediately after Angelus and Drusilla returned with Willow and Giles. A piece of metal that Spike was holding on his hand before he wheeled over to Angelus, Willow looking at Spike; her eyes begging the bleached vampire for help.

With Willow's shirt already ripped from the beating that she received earlier, it was easy for Angelus to put the hot metal onto Willow's bare skin. And Spike enjoyed her screams.

"When I open the door to hell," said Angelus as Willow continued to scream from the hot piece of metal being placed on various parts of her body, "and when Angel's back in my body, will you ever forgive him?"

Willow's face was already twisted in pain, unable to answer because of the scream that escaped from her lips, when she looked at Angelus.

"Your parents will die," said Angelus as he used the sharp edge of the metal to cut along Willow's skin, "I'm always at the back of Angel's mind, I'll watch their body's be flayed bu demons. I'll watch you screaming for them... I watch Buffy screaming for her mother. And Angel will hate himself; he betrayed all of you."

Willow couldn't say anything as she felt blood dripping down her body from slices that Angelus made. He cut her abdomen, shoulders, chest; all the while saying that she was nothing... that her entire life amounted to nothing but being Buffy;s side-kick. That even with her powers, she was nothing since all she did was seek approval. The redhead sobbed from the pain that wracked her body, while Drusilla walked over to the room where Angelus was torturing Willow, before she cooed; grabbing both Spike and Angelus' attention.

"Daddy," said Drusilla as she stood in the doorway looking at Angelus with glee, "the bad man with the glasses doesn't want to talk."

"Really?" asked Angel before the sides of his mouth lifted into a grin as he turned back towards Willow, whose face was bruised and cut, and then he slammed her back onto the floor. It was there that she lay sobbing while bleeding from the cuts made on her body. Willow coughed and blood came out of her mouth while pulling her chained arms to cover herself because of her shirt that was torn from the beatings. Spike could hear Willow sobbing from the pain, and a part of him didn't care... he wanted to embrace that part as he wheeled himself back while Angelus smiled at Willow after he was done undoing her chains. He then asked Drusilla to place a table in front of Giles; he needed to be taught a lesson in obeying orders.

Spike followed Willow who was being dragged along the floor while she was screaming in pain; a trail of blood being left behind on her path. Once they reached the other room where Giles was tied to a chair, Spike saw the look of horror and shock on the Watcher's face.

"Dru's been trying to mentally break you," said Angelus as he picked up Willow by her hair, pushed her towards the table, and then bent her over the table face down, the top part of her body lying on the table top with Angelus' hand holding down the back of her neck, "but I think you need the direct approach, Giles. You tell me how to release Acathla, and I let Willow go.. I promise."

"Don't, Gi…," craocked Willow through her sobs, before she opened her mouth wide in pain as Angelus pressed down on the back of her neck. She then closed her eyes as she felt the skirt she was wearing getting hiked up, followed by Angelus touching her.

"Stop," replied Giles as his eyes opened wide at Willow, and then at Angelus, "stop… I.. I'll tell you. Just… just don't hurt her anymore."

Willow opened her eyes and shuddered since she still felt Angel's hand on her; she wanted to use her telekinesis and slam him against the door, and use everything she had to turn him to dust; Buffy's desire to get Angel back be damned.

But she couldn't access her powers.

She couldn't access her magic.

'Drusilla… she did something,' thought Willow to herself while Giles was telling Angelus that he needed to use his own blood to release Acathla; That was the only way to do it. Willow could hear Spike wheeling up until he was in her peripheral vision. She noticed him just looking at her; just looking at her as if he pitied her. She looked back at Spike, half pleading… and half wanting to kill him… and then kill Angelus, and then kill Drusilla. She wanted the pain to last the longest for the mad woman, Willow wanted to avenge Oz's murder.

And then she heard Giles telling Angel that things were over for her, that Willow had to be let go.

But Willow knew that there was no chance. She looked at Giles' terrified face, and then read his moving lips.

He was apologizing.

"A virtuous knight was able to seal the demon," said Angelus with a wide grin as he looked at Giles. "So a once virtuous knight, i.e, the ensouled me who's just a pussy cat, who became corrupt can unlock the demon. That it? I mean the basic theory?"

"Yes," said Giles as he stamped his feet and shook his body trying to loosen the bonds around him while repeating himself, "now let Willow go and…"

"Willow's the oh so virtuous knight," said Angel as he dropped his trousers while everyone, except Drusilla opened their eyes wide in shock, "she gets corrupted, and then I'll use her blood to open hell. You, Buffy, Willow, Angel… everyone will be destroyed, tortured for an eternity. And I'll be in Angel enjoying every bit of it."

"And I'll find a way to get my daddy back," said Drusilla as she looked at Angelus, and then at Spike, "our family will be together again."

While Angel was still holding down on the back of Willow's neck, he stepped behind her, and roughly pushed into the redhead. Giles screamed 'no' just as Willow started screaming and sobbing. Willow felt pain through her entire being as she closed her eyes shut and sobbed while Angelus was moving and grunting for the next few seconds. Through her cries of pain, Willow could hear two voices in the distance... Giles and Ariel; both trying to get to her, but the sounds of her screams and sobbing pushed them to the back of her mind. Spike, who had been watching what was happening with his face twisted in disgust, wasn't able to take it anymore. He got up off his wheelchair, and got a hold of the surprised Angelus, and slammed him against the wall.

"You've gone insane!" screamed Spike as he heard Willow's sobs while Giles, in a broken voice, was desperately trying to calm Willow down by repeatedly asking the traumatized girl to listen to his voice, all the while Angelus was laughing at Spike… mocking the platinum haired vampire before saying that he wondered how much longer he was going to wait until he would make a move. Spike just shook his head and told Angelus that he was talking about bringing Hell to Earth… that he was talking about there being no more humans to feed on, "you're talking about something insane and… and what you're… I never thought you'd actually do it and…"

"And you said that I've gone weak," scoffed Angelus who pushed Spike off him while Willow lay crying on the table, "remember how many villages and towns we raped and pillaged? If you wanted a feel of Willow, all you had to do was ask and…"

"She's the Slayer's best friend," yelled Spike while pointing at Willow, "we were supposed to kill her, not...,not this."

"Spike," cooed Drusilla from behind as she gently turned the vampire around. Once Spike was facing his sire, Drusilla punched him across the jaw, using her full strength causing him to be flung against the wall. He hit it hard and slipped to the floor, groaning in pain. Angelus smirked at Spike before he walked up to Willow. He put her skirt back down and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her up. Angelus then put his arm around her throat while making her face Drusilla, who looked into Willow's red, and puffy, eyes that had tears still streaming down her face. The touch from Angelus' hands making her entire body tremble.

"Come, my daughter," said Drusilla with a gentle smile, "you'll open Hell for us, and then… then you'll be one of us."

"Angelus," pleaded Giles trying to stall Angelus; he wanted to distract the vampire as much as possible so that the ritual to restore his soul could work before anything irreversible was done. He knew that no-one would ever forgive him for what he had done Willow, he knew that Willow would never be the same again with Angel. And all Giles could do was feel ashamed for not being able to do anything, "there has to be some morality in you that says this is wrong; doing what you did to Willow was wrong! Opening Hell is wrong! Damn it, Angel if you're in there then fight!"

"Ummm… no," said Angelus before he and Drusilla walked out of the room with a glassy eyed Willow who had tears still flowing down her cheeks. Giles couldn't believe how bad things had gotten; his torture was more mental.. he had to see the people he loved die over and over again… all the while unable to hear Willow's screams as Angel tortured the girl secretly known as 'Nighthawk'; and Giles felt ashamed.

Ashamed of not stopping Willow in exploring her powers, and thus becoming Nighthawk.

Ashamed of being a bad father figure.

Ashamed of not caring as much for Willow as he did for Buffy.

He could hear Willow, her voice breaking, recite the spell that would release Acathla, and he closed his eyes. Giles knew that Angel was feeding her the spell while under Drusilla's thrall. Giles was shaking his head, hoping that this was just a nightmare when he felt his bonds weakening. He looked back and saw Spike undoing the knots before he got up and rushed past Giles, and out of the door. Giles followed Spike out the door once he had his feet untied. He ran out and halted next to a stunned Spike. They just looked on at what was about to happen, unable yo prevent the unthinkable as Willow screamed while her hand was on the hilt of the sword that was dug into Acathla's chest.

They watched helplessly as Willow, the once virtuous knight now corrupted, pulled the sword out of Acathla as energy transferred from her to the statue. Once the sword was completely pulled out, Willow's eyes reverted to normal. She looked at the sword in her hand, and then at the statue before dropping the sword on the floor and grabbed the sides of her head while shaking her head in anguish. She then turned and looked at Angelus who was grinning at her.

"Congratulations, Willow," said Angelus before he slammed a backfist to the side of Willow's head, flinging her across the room before she hit the floor and just remained lying there crying while she grabbed her head with one hand and pulled her knees up to her chest until she was lying in a fetal position.

In the meantime, Spike ran towards Drusilla who had stepped back while clapping her hands at Angleus, "you opened Hell, daddy."

"That one's a ponce," said Spike as he knocked Drusilla out from behind while he looked at the grinning Angelus who picked up the sword that Willow pulled out from Acathla. Willow was in pain in more ways than one as she watched, through tear stained eyes, as Giles ran towards her. She flinched from his touch before he apologized and covered Willow's body with his jacket.

"Angel!" shouted a familiar voice as Giles and the others looked at the sword-wielding Buffy who was glaring at Angelus. She looked past him to Spike carrying an unconscious Drusilla, and then she saw Willow laying there on the floor bleeding and littered with bruises with Giles crouching by her side.

"Buffy," said Angelus as he lifted the sword up towards the Slayer, "here to save Nighthawk?"

"What?" asked Buffy as she eyed Angelus in confusion. She looked back at Willow, her eyes widened in horror. The heavily injured redhead was looking straight back at her, the redhead's eyes reflecting the trauma and torment she had just endured. Buffy then looked at Giles who looked away. He looked at Willow instead, who flinched as he gingerly reached for her.. causing him to hurriedly draw his hand back.

"I'm surprised that dog breath didn't… what is it you kids call it… hit that sweet thing," quipped Angelus with a smile as tears appeared in Buffy's, fearing what Angelus was about to say, "don't worry, Buffy. She didn't want it… but when I put…"

"Shut up!" shouted Buffy as she lunged at Angelus who swung the sword at her. Buffy ducked at the last moment and punched him, and then swung her sword which Angelus blocked. The fight between them raged on while Willow saw Spike about to leave with Drusilla in his arms.

And she couldn't have that, no matter how much she hurt.

Willow screamed in pain as she slowly pushed herself up, her eyes locked on Drusilla and Spike. She got up to her unsteady feet, the lower part of her body screaming out in pain as she stood up. Giles got up to his feet and looked into Willow's eyes, but all he saw there was rage, pain, betrayal; all those emotions mixed together. He was about to say something to Willow, but the redhead screamed in pain and anguish, punching Giles across the jaw. Willow winced in pain as a sting went from her shoulder to the bottom of her arm from Angelus' beatings after punching the watcher.

Giles fell to the floor before rubbing the side of his jaw as he watched Buffy going all out against Angelus, the sword, that he was holding earlier, now lay on the floor. He then looked back at Willow who just had jumped up high before spinning around in mid-air and then delivering a kick to the side of Spike's head. The vampire stumbled back while dropping Drusilla on the floor just as Giles rushed past Willow, who upon landing grabbed her side in pain before stumbling back onto the floor, grabbed the sword and swung it at Spike's head.

It was just then that everyone heard a groan.

A monstrous groan.

All of them turned to see the statue of Acathla open its mouth, before a small vortex started to form. The same vortex that was in Willow's vision. Willow looked at the vortex, and then she closed her eyes as she remembered the nightmare she had about the demon.

Everything was going to be like she had seen with her clairvoyance ability.

Willow looked at the vortex just as Angel stumbled back a few steps and then turned around towards Willow and dropped down on his knees. They saw him scream a little before his eyes glowed.

"Angel?" asked Buffy as she eased up, and let the sword fall to her side.

"Buffy?" asked Angel as he looked at everyone, "Giles? Willow? Where.. where am I?"

"Hey!" shouted Spike as Willow and the others looked at him while he held on to Giles before flinging him towards a wall; all the while Angel remained on his knees in a daze. He then pointed at Buffy who was standing next to Angel while Willow was slowly getting up, her legs screaming out in pain, her body telling her to give up, and the throbbing at the side of her head where Angelus had punched her earlier getting worse, telling her that she had worse things to worry about.

"I'm leaving with Dru," said Spike, "and…"

"No!" screamed Willow as she limping hurriedly towards Spike while Buffy moved towards him as well. He ducked Willow's punch, and then he was hit by Buffy's kick. Spike grabbed the heavily injured Willow, who howled in pain before she was thrown into Buffy. The two young women hit each other and toppled onto the floor, the redhead crawling out form over Buffy while tears formed in her eyes again while she was looking away from Buffy. It was just then that Angel remembered what he just did as Angelus. He grabbed the sides of his head and stared at Willow.

His eyes started to tear up as he remembered the beatings he had given her, and then he remembered what else had happened. And he mumbled an apology. He then heard a sound coming from behind him, making the newly ensouled vampire turn around and look at the widening vortex. Angel stepped back after he got to his steady feet while contemplating in dismay about what he had done. Angel then looked behind him and saw Giles getting up while Buffy and Willow were on their feet. He saw Buffy reached out for Willow, but the redhead moved a few steps back while her hands were wrapped around her own body. Angel then looked at Giles, and the vampire could feel the Watcher's hatred being directed towards him.

Giles moved closer to the unsteady Willow, and was about to make a move at Spike, but the vampire pointed at him saying that he and Drusilla were going to leave Sunnydale for good. And if any of the Scoobies came after them, then he was going to kill their family.

You lot have bigger things to deal with, yea?" said Spike as he lifted up Drusilla before stepping back, "you won't see us again."

"You..." said Buffy shaking her head.

"Red's out of the running to help you," said Spike, "I can take you and the librarian on, and Angel's just a pussycat now. So thing about this? You have a gateway to Hell opening up behind you, do you really think that you can afford having this fight? And I meant what I said, if Dru dies while we fight? If the librarian or Red kills her? Then all your family will die. Well?"

"Go." Buffy spoke with her hands rolled into fists as she glared at Spike, "you come back here? I'll kill you. You and your whore."

Willow couldn't do anything but watch Spike pick up Drusilla, who was unconscious, in his arms and then run out through a hallway. Willow's body was in pain, everything she was had been destroyed and violated. She watched Spike run away, and then she noticed Giles looking at her. So Willow just looked at the floor, and then she turned away from Buffy and towards Angel. She glared at the vampire, and then at the vortex behind him, and then back at Buffy who was walking towards her.

"Stay away from me," said Willow as she stepped back. The Slayer tearing up as she saw the bruises and cuts all over her body, "don't come near me."

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Buffy, "Will, why didn't you tell me?"

"Doesn't matter," mumbled the redhead as she looked at the floor, and then at Buffy, at Angel, and then at Giles. Willow's voice was breaking as she asked the librarian, "Giles, how do we close the vortex?"

"The… the vortex… Willow, once opened with blood, the vortex can only be closed with the blood flow stopping," said Giles as he looked at Willow with tears in his eyes, he knew what was about to happen, he had read about it, "it.. it'll take you and you… you'll be going to Hell."

"What?" asked Buffy as she looked at Giles stunned, and then at Willow who was looking at the floor as new tears streamed down her face. The two young women realized what Giles was saying, "what… what did you do? Willow, what did you do?!"

"It was me," mumbled Angel while he was standing a few steps away from Buffy and the others, "it was my… my fault."

"No!" exclaimed Buffy in disbelief as she stepped back while shaking her head, "no!"

She repeated 'no!' again and again as she looked at Giles, and then at Willow.

"No!" screamed Buffy at Willow.

"You had a chance to stop all this!" screamed Willow, her life crashing all around her as she realized that everything was ending. All that she is, and could be, was finished. She glared at Buffy while pointing at Angel and screamed at Buffy with her voice breaking, "you knew what he became. You let him go at the mall… everything since then led to this point. Everything you did… led to my vision coming true and… and... and I can't say goodbye to Xander, I can't say goodbye to my parents"

"You didn't tell me anything about your powers!" wailed Buffy with tears in her eyes as she realized that her best fiend would be leaving her life, her best friend was going to Hell, "you should have told me, Will. We're best friends and… and I could have said something to keep you away from this. I could have told you that I was safe, that I was all right. That I needed you... of God Willow... I need you here with me. I never needed you as Nighthawk, I needed you as my best friend, I..."

"Giles," rasped Willow shaking her head while Buffy was wiping her eyes before she turned to Giles, "stop my blood and the vortex closes?"

"Yes," whispered Giles, his voice breaking. Willow limped over to pick up the sword while Buffy looked on with eyes wide open, unable to move because of her shock at what was happening. She willed her legs to move, but they couldn't as she watched Willow walk back to Giles. The redhead's body was trembling, and Willow started to sob as she walked towards Giles.

But the shock of what was about to happen left Buffy in place. She couldn't move.

"I'm scared, Giles," whimpered Willow in a small voice. Her hands were trembling as she handed him the sword while Buffy, finally mentally pushing herself as the realization of what was about to happen finally settled in; rushed towards the both of them while screaming 'no!'.

Willow turned towards Buffy, the look that the redhead gave the Slayer forced her to stop. Willow then softly, with emotion in her voice, told Buffy that this was the only way to prevent the world from going to hell. Buffy looked on with tears in her eyes as Willow turned to Giles again. "Even to save the world, I can't stop my blood from flowing. I'm afraid I can't kill myself, Giles."

"Willow," whispered Giles, shaking his head.

"You know... know what... what needs to.. to be done, Giles," sobbed Willow as she hugged him and whispered in his ear between sobs. The Watcher holding on to her tightly, it was then that everything crashed onto Giles that this sixteen year old terrified girl was going to be the sacrifice to save the world. Giles felt her tears fall on his neck as he looked at Buffy through the tears in his eyes, and then he closed them while Willow whimpered in broken sentences, "I'm so scared, Giles. I know what... oh God, I know what I have to do, but I'm so scared."

"I'll do everything I can to bring you back, Willow," said Giles as he stifled a sob. He then heard another groan and he looked behind Buffy and Angel, who had also turned around to look at the widening orange maw in front of them. Willow was about to turn, but Giles held her tight, telling her that she didn't need to see. Willow nodded her head on the Watcher's shoulder as Angel stepped back from the vortex. Giles could see that some of the small knickknack were getting pulled in, and he himself could feel the pull as well. They were going to be pulled into the vortex at any moment.

"Willow," said Giles, "I'm sorry."

At that, Buffy turned around and looked at Giles, while Willow opened her mouth and released a sob on Giles' shoulder, her eyes closed tight as tears continuously fell down her cheeks like a faucet had broken.

Buffy saw Giles pull the sword back, she knew what was about to happen, and she was sure that there was another way to stop this; there had to be a way to stop the world going to Hell, and to save her best friend.

She needed to stop Giles.

"Giles! No!" screamed Buffy as she took a step towards Giles. Giles had a moment's hesitation as everything went into slow motion for him. The Watcher felt the young woman holding him tight. He could feel her raspy breath on his shoulder. He could smell the strawberry scent from her hair; but he knew that Willow had to die. She had to die or else the world would plunge into hell. He kissed Willow's cheek before he ran his hand through her hair. Looking into the redhead's green eyes, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and then gave him a small smiled at him while Buffy was just about to reach them and take the sword away. He knew that Buffy would never kill Willow, that she would rather have the world go to hell than to kill her best friend. He saw Willow close her eyes as Buffy almost had her hand on her shoulder, and the one thought going through his head was that Angelus had won today. Even when they close the vortex, it was Angelus who really had won. Giles then hugged Willow again one last time before he closed his eyes.

"I forgive you, Giles," sobbed Willow with Giles' eyes tearing up as he released a sob at the same time.

His arm, trembling, reached back and then thrusted forward, running the sword through Willow's chest, making the blood that was used to open the vortex stop flowing within Willow's body. Angel collapsed to his knees at witnessing what just happened, while Buffy pushed Giles away from Willow. He landed on the floor crying while Willow's body fell into the screaming and crying Buffy's arms as she kneeled down and cradled the redhead's body in her arms.

"No, no, no," cried Buffy as she looked at Willow's face; holding the body of her best friend tightly while rocking her body.

It was at that same time, that Althanea was already driving her car towards the mansion when she suddenly pulled over and stopped her car at the side of the road. She gasped, and grabbed her chest.

"What's wrong?" asked Cordelia, "Althanea, what's wrong?"

"Oh, goddess of Light," gasped Althanea as she leaned back on her seat and tears came into her eyes, "watch over Willow's soul."

"What?" asked Cordelia as Althanea looked at her, and then at Miss Calendar in the back seat.

"Oh God," said the I.T teacher as she put a hand over her mouth. She feared the worst, "is... is Willow…?"

"She's gone," whispered Althanea as Cordelia leaned back on her seat, dejected, while putting her arms around her abdomen and resting her head on the passenger side door window. She looked at her reflection, and could see the tears in her eyes before she closed them.

On the other side of the world, Ira and Sheila Rosenberg just had gotten off the plane in Rome when Sheila held onto Ira's shoulder and grabbed her chest. The worried Ira looked at his wife and sat her down on a chair at the gate and asked her if everything was alright.

"I don't know," said Sheila as she teared up, "I.. I don't know. Ira, I… I don't feel so good."

"Let's get you to a doctor and then... and then we'll give Willow a call," said Ira with a smile, "maybe you're getting anxiety about leaving her alone at home."

"She has friends, Ira," said Sheila as she wiped her eyes and rubbed her chest, "and she's an independent young woman, we raised her that way and…"

"You'll see, Sheila," said Ira, "speaking to her will make you feel better. But first, we see a doctor."

"All right," replied Sheila as Ira helped her back to her feet, and then held her hand tightly before walking away.

Back in the Crawford Street mansion, tendrils erupted from the vortex and slowly made their way to Willow's body. They wrapped themselves around the redhead's feet, arms, and chest and then pulled. But Buffy wasn't letting go, and the tendrils were pulling her to. It took both Giles and Angel get her hands off Willow's body. Buffy was screaming at them to let her go as she watched the redhead's body enter the vortex before it got smaller, and vanished. Leaving only Acathla's statue as Giles quickly got up and then reinserted the sword into the statues chest.

He then collapsed onto his knees crying in shame; Willow's voice ringing in his ears that she forgave him. He heard Buffy sobbing, while Angel continued to beg for forgiveness. It would be several minutes later before Althanea and the others ran into the large room and saw the three despondent people.

All they could do was look at Acathla's statue in horror.

 **Acathla's Hell, at the same time.**

Willow snapped her eyes open and found herself in the same room as the one in the nightmare she had several weeks ago. She looked around the chains that hung her in mid-air with her arms spread and chained to the ceiling of the room, and her legs were spread as well and rendered immobile by the chains that were attached to them from the floor. Willow closed her eyes and tears fell down her cheeks. She knew it was hopeless to call for help, and she just hung in mid-air.

A little while later the demon from her nightmare came through the door, and it did the exact same things how she remembered from that vision. Willow scrunched her face as it took in her scent before licking her neck, and then stepping back.

"A soul," growled the demon and Willow's eyes opened wide, when she noticed the rows of four sharp teeth in his mouth. She felt the rough tongue again as the demon licked her neck one more time. The demon then looked into Willow's eyes and grinned, "I haven't had a soul here for a very long time. Don't worry, you'll be my play thing… there are others here who have never tasted a soul before. They'll want to taste you… carve your flesh, eat your heart."

"I…," was the only thing that Willow could say before it lunged forward and roared in her face before reaching into her mouth and grabbing her tongue

"You'll never die here," hissed the demon as it pulled on Willow's tongue; the redhead's eyes were wide open in fear, "for the next thousands of years, you are mine… and then you'll be the vampires plaything, and then every demon here will want you.. they'll want to eat your flesh, drink your blood. But you will never die… you will remain young and ensouled… a drug for all of us. But first, I want a taste; I am hungry."

The demon then let go off Willow and walked outside the door into a massive hallway where she could hear screams of agony from various other rooms. The demon then walked in with a cart of various implements, most of which were sharp, while the others were dull, some were even shaped like mallets and hammers. This wasn't in her nightmare and Willow started to get terrified as she pulled her arms and legs. The demon looked at her and roared in laughter as it picked up a large syringe with seemed to have a black liquid inside. The demon stepped forward and grabbed Willow naked waist, and then plunged the needle into Willow's bare chest. The redhead gritted her teeth before giving off a small scream.

"We've had ensouled humans here before," snickered the demon as it looked at the syringe, and then at Willow, "your souls are rare, and a vital commodity. We love flesh that have the taste of a soul in them, but the longer you remain here… the darker your soul becomes. The liquid will keep your soul fresh and bright, makes your meat taste good for us. You'll never die… well, after you die, you'll be brought back to life here; Hell will bring you back to life. I take out your heart, and you'll die for the length of a heart beat before you're returned to life. Believe me, you will feel the pain... the agony. You will feel everything. You will never age with this elixir; we like you ensouled humans young."

"I'll…. I'll es.. escape," said Willow as she panted and glared at the demon.

"Good luck," laughed the demon before it pressed down on the plunger, and Willow felt as if her body was being injected with burning hot lava that was going through her veins, and her nervous system... all the way to her soul. She tried to grit her teeth, but she couldn't handle it.

And she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

TBC.


	16. Chapter 16

**Crawford Street Mansion, five minutes after closure of the vortex.**

Cordelia was the first to run into the large room to find Buffy kneeling on the floor sobbing with her head bowed down, her blonde hair covering her face. She then saw Angel on the floor looking out into space while his lips were moving, but Cordelia couldn't hear a word coming out of his mouth. It was as if he was in a state of shock. The cheerleader then looked at Giles who was lying on the floor in front of a hideous statue, his back facing her, and his body trembling.

But there was no sign of Willow anywhere.

Cordelia looked around while blinking as Althanea and Miss Calendar rushed past her, and then she looked at the statute again, she noticed that it had a sword stuck in its chest. Cordelia, Althanea, and Miss Calendar looked horrified at the statue, and then at each other. Cordelia sniffled before she looked around the room again, hoping that her eyes were just playing tricks on her; but Willow was really gone. Cordelia knew that the two of them hadn't been the best of friends, that she had been tormenting the redhead ever since middle school. But ever since Willow had gotten her powers, Cordelia knew she had been trying to reach out to her; to include her more in the Scoobies activities. And then came Nighthawk, and Cordelia knew that Willow was the one underneath the mask… the redhead didn't even need to tell her the truth.

Cordelia just knew.

And now she was gone.

And Cordelia had her regrets to live with now.

'Althanea said she's gone,' thought Cordelia to herself as she looked around the room again, 'but where's Willow's body?'

"Giles," said Miss Calendar running towards the older man, as did Althanea, while Cordelia rushed over to Buffy. The closer she got to the Slayer, the more that Cordelia saw how much the young woman was trembling. She could see tears dripping onto the stone floor as she knelt down, and while she'd usually quip about how Buffy should 'man up' right now, there was something in Cordelia telling her to be more subdued.

"Buffy?" whispered Cordelia as Buffy shook her head while she sniffed and wiped her nose. Cordelia saw Buffy looking back at Angel, and then at Giles, before she shook her head again and released a sob while bringing a hand to cover her mouth, "Buffy? What happened?" Where's Willow?"

Buffy looked up at Cordelia with her eyes red, puffiness around her eyes before she looked back down to the floor again and shook her head. The Slayer couldn't speak.

While Cordelia stayed with Buffy, Miss Calendar and Althanea were helping Giles sit up. Althanea crouched down, and looked into his brown eyes full of sadness, anger, and loss before she looked back at the statue. She then looked at Giles with her eyes wide open in shock as she stumbled back onto the floor while shaking her head. She too had immediately noticed Willow's missing body, but the look she saw in Giles' eyes told her everything she needed to know. It was Althanea who helped Giles do the research on how Acathla would have to be awakened, and in the event that he was awakened, how to put him back into a dormant state.

"No," whispered the woman as she looked at Giles' eyes that were wet before he closed them and nodded his head slightly. All the while, Miss Calendar was looking between the both of them. The I.T teacher asked what happened. What was it that they weren't telling her.

"The… the way to awaken Acathla is to spill one's own blood after reciting an incantation," said a shocked Althanea, "and then to grab the sword's hilt, before pulling it out. And the way to put him back into the dormant state once again is to stop the flow of blood from the one who awakened him."

"Oh God," whispered Miss Calendar, "and… and…"

"Willow," mumbled Giles as he looked at the floor, "she… she was the virtuous knight corrupted. She was the one Angelus used to open the door and… and now…"

"She's in Acathla's dimension,' whispered Althanea in disbelief as she looked at Giles, and then at Miss Calendar, "she is in Hell."

Miss Calendar didn't know what to say; what would there to say when one hears someone as innocent as Willow was sent to Hell. She heard Althanea whispering something to Giles, but her voice seemed faraway while Miss Calendar stood and looked at Buffy. She was now hugging Cordelia, her body wracked with sobs as she opened her mouth wide while on Cordelia's shoulder and cried out in grief. Tears gathered in Miss Calendar's eyes while she looked at Angel, who was spaced in the middle of Buffy and Giles, while he made no sound even though his lips were moving as he looked out into space. Miss Calendar looked around and then noticed the sword that lay on the floor, it was the one that Angelus had in his hands while fighting Buffy earlier. She picked it up while glaring at Angel.

Miss Calendar knew in her heart that Giles was right, that Angelus was the only one sadistic enough to do something like this; sacrifice Willow. Miss Calendar knew that he was the one who took Willow away as she hurried towards the vampire, her shoes 'click-clacking' on the stone floor as she neared him.

She raised the sword over her head and was about to swing it down when Angel looked up at her with tears in his eyes.

"Kill me," whispered Angel, his voice breaking, "please kill me."

Miss Calendar glared at Angel, hesitating to bring the sword down on him, and slice it though his neck. She knew that it would be too easy for him, she knew that he was cursed again and that everything he did had come back while thinking to herself, 'Whatever you did will be coming back to you. No, death is too easy for you… my people cursed you so that you'll be punished. Now you'll be punished for all eternity again as you remember what you did to the most innocent, the sweetest girl I know."

"Get out of Sunnydale," hissed Miss Calendar as Cordelia and Althanea looked at her speaking to Angel; Giles and Buffy not willing to look at him while they dealt with their own emotional loss, "turning to dust is too easy for you. You killed my clan's favourite daughter two hundred years ago, and you just did the same thing again. Get out of Sunnydale, leave… never come back."

Angel just looked back down on the floor, covered his eyes with a hand and then cried. Miss Calendar dropped the sword onto the floor before rushing over to Buffy and Cordelia, telling the both of them that they needed to go to the hospital and see Xander.

"Miss Calendar," said Althanea as she and Giles were slowly standing up, the Watcher was unsteady on his feet while he was doing the best he could to not look at Buffy.

The Slayer was doing the same thing as she and Cordelia stood up.

Cordelia, Miss Calendar, and Althanea looked at the reaction that Giles and Buffy had to each other and instantly knew that something else had happened. They decided to ask what happened at another time, but for now… Buffy and Giles had to be taken out of there. AS they trudged out of the large room, all Angel could do was lie down on the cold floor. He then closed his eyes, and then opened them once he heard the car, that brought the three woman here, drive off. Angel then closed his eyes again as his face twisted in anguish before he yelled out Willow's name and said he was sorry.

"I'm sorry, Willow!" bellowed Angel as tears went down his face, "I'm so sorry!"

After a few minutes of crying onto the floor, Angel slowly got off the floor, looked around at the large room, and then he turned and trudged away slowly. The knowledge of what he did lying heavy on his unbeating heart, and on his soul. In his mind he heard Willow's screams as he beat her, he heard the thumping of his fists hitting her face, her chest, and all over her body. He remembered tearing her shirt open before beating her again and again. Angel sniffled while tears flowed down his face as he remembered using the hot metal on her.

And then he doubled over and vomited into a corner of the room when he remembered the rape. Crying for a few more minutes, Angel then rambled off.

The entire room was now eerily silent; only the walls witnessed to what had just happened.

 **Sunnydale Mercy Hospital, twenty minutes later.**

Cordelia hurried into Xander's room with a doctor, with the others following close behind her. Buffy and Giles still not talking to, or looking at, each other during the entire ride to the hospital. The tension between them was palpable; Althanea suspected what happened back in the mansion, that one of them had been the one to kill Willow to stop her blood flowing.

She didn't know who it was that did the deed, just that one of them had done it.

But that thought went to the back of her mind when she and the others saw Xander's injuries. His arm was in a cast, and a bandage was wrapped around his head. The doctor said that Xander was unconscious after having been beaten badly and was in great pain when he was brought into the hospital. The doctor told Cordelia and the others what they did to patch up his injuries, as well as giving him some medication for the pain which knocked him out. He ended the conversation about Xander's condition by saying that he should be up in twenty-four hours. Cordelia reached down and held onto Xander's hand, while Buffy stood next to her and looked down at the young man. Buffy looked at him and just knew that all of this was her fault, that Willow was right. If she had killed Angelus, then none of this would have happened.

Xander wouldn't be injured.

Willow wouldn't be in hell.

And she wouldn't have seen Giles run a sword through her best friend's chest.

She glanced over at Giles who had just looked away down to the floor. Buffy could feel her face about to twist into one of anguish, but she stopped it by taking a deep breath and then looking at Xander once the doctor had walked away; but not before saying that the police wanted to be notified once Xander had any visitors.

With the door to the room closed behind the doctor, it was just the Scoobies left in the room alone with the unconscious Xander. They stood in silence for twenty minutes, which was when two detectives from the Sunnydale Police department walked into the eerily silent room and introduced themselves. The Scoobies then introduced themselves before one of the detectives nodded at Buffy once she introduced herself, saying that they had already read her statement.

"I know this is hard," said another detective, "but I'd like the rest of you to make statements about what happened while the details are fresh in your mind."

Giles took in a deep breath before he glanced at Buffy, who, this time, was looking back at him. He knew that he needed to tell them about Willow; that the police needed to be the ones to inform her parents of what happened. Giles knew that he had to come up with a story, a story that would run for months before the case against the 'missing' Willow became cold.

The Watcher stepped into the light, which was when the detectives narrowed their eyes at him once they saw the bruises on his face. Giles saw that the detectives were about to ask him something, but Giles steadied his voice before telling them that he wanted to check on Xander first before getting medical attention, and that he was going to report what happened to the police once he had checked in on the injured young man.

"Then the doctor said that he was calling the police to talk to us," explained Giles in a low tone of voice, with arms slumped by his side as the detectives took out notepads and pens, "we were waiting for Buffy in the library at the school. And… I mean we were all going to go out for some dinner since the children have been helping me with some research, and.. and I wanted to thank them."

"Okay," said the female detective.

"We were about to leave when…. When…" Giles covered his mouth and closed his eyes, pushing down the lump in his throat when Althanea interrupted.

"MY name is Althanea Pierce," said the woman, "and I can tell you that we were waiting for Buffy to arrive when a group of five.. I suppose they were men… men in black masks broke in and demanded money from us. They said they were part of some gang… I.. I saw their hands tremble while they were holding clubs. I'm a nurse, and I can tell you that they were going through withdrawal symptoms. Maybe they saw lights turned on in the school and they thought that there were people who had money they could steal. I can't tell you what their true motivations were, just what I observed."

"They attacked when we said that we didn't have anything," said Miss Calendar after introducing herself. They hadn't discussed what they were going to tell the police on the silent ride to the hospital, all they were doing now was building on the story that the others were telling the police. They were hopeful that it would be believable and cogent; with the police believing that any inconstancies in the story were a result of the extreme trauma they had just been through, "when they attacked; Xander and Willow pushed us out of the library through a back door that the criminals didn't know about. Myself, Miss Pierce, and Cordelia there ran to our car and drove off. We were so sacred that we kept on driving until we reached the outskirts of Sunnydale. I know how horrible it sounds and…."

"It's understandable, Miss Calendar," said the male detective while the other one looked around, before looking at Giles who had tears in his eyes. The detective was about to ask a question when Giles beat him to an answer.

"They… they beat Xander until… until…" said Giles as he looked at Xander, and then at Cordelia and Buffy, who was looking back at him with tears falling down her face. She then looked away and wiped her eyes while placing a hand on Xander's forehead. Giles turned to the detectives and, with his voice threatening to be overtaken by emotion, talked about what happed once Cordelia, Miss Calendar, and Althanea had left.

"They… they took Willow," whispered Giles as the detectives looked at each other, and then at Giles with serious looks on their faces, "she's only sixteen and… her name is Willow Rosenberg, her parents are Sheila and Ira Rosenberg. Please, you need to find her. They took her after beating Xander and me. I didn't go down easily and… and I heard her screams. Oh God, I heard her screams."

"Where did they take her?" asked a concerned detective who quickly got on his phone, "Mr. Giles?"

"I wouldn't tell them go," whispered Giles as he looked at the floor, "I would let them take her away… they said something about selling her and… Oh God, they took me… told me that since I cared about Willow so much, I could see what they did to her before selling her off. They kept on hitting me and… dear God."

Giles released a sob as he covered his eyes.

One of the detectives gently told him that they were going to put an alert out on Willow, but they needed to know where she was taken.

"All… all I remember is that when I woke up… I was tied to a chair in a van.. it seemed to be a movers van," whispered Giles in a broken voice, "I didn't know where… I… I don't know. But… but the men hit me again before they beat and tortured Willow in front of my eyes. They… they were all laughing while I watched helplessly. They forced my eyes open while the beat her, burned her, and…. And Oh God…"

"What happened?" asked the female detective while the other one spoke on the phone and ordered roadblocks on all exits out of Sunnydale. The Detective on the phone ordered that the Principal of Sunnydale High be called so that they could get a picture of Willow from their records. Buffy said that she had a picture of herself and Willow at home, that they could use that picture as long as she got it back.

"Come with me, Miss," said the detective while he was still on the phone. The both of them hurried out of the room, with Althanea, who Buffy asked to follow them, accompanying them to Buffy's house to get the picture.

Once they had left the room, Giles just stopped talking. But before he did, the Watcher told the other detective that he had seen one of the men do unspeakable things to Willow while the others just looked on.

"Maybe they were there for something else, but I know Willow was crying," mumbled Giles as he wiped his eyes, "oh God, she was crying and… and she was… Oh God."

"What happened after that, sir?" asked the female detective gently.

"They said that she was going to be sold," bemoaned Giles as he shook his head, "I should have done something…. I…"

"They would have killed you and Willow," said the detective in a gentle voice, reassuring the Watcher that he didn't have a choice, that there was nothing he could do at that moment,, "and then what happened?"

"They beat me while Willow was crying," whispered Giles while he was looking at the floor, "and the next thing I knew, I woke up in front of my apartment. Jenny…. I mean Miss Calendar and the others were there soon after the people dropped me out of their van."

"We'll find Willow," said the detective as she put away the notepad. She told Giles and the others what the police were going to do to find Willow. She then left soon after, with Giles sitting down on a chair, and Miss Calendar by his side. The guilt of what happened would plague him for the rest of his life.

All he could do now was be there for Xander, Buffy, and Cordelia. And pray for Willow.

'When I go home,' thought Giles to himself, 'I'm calling the Council, I need a way to bring someone back from Hell.'

 **The Summers Residence, ten minutes later.**

Buffy closed the door behind the detective who had just left the house after the Slayer gave him a picture of herself and Willow grinning at Xander, who was the one taking the picture. As she closed the door, Buffy noticed a confused Joyce standing next to Althanea in the living room. The Slayer walked over to Joyce who was asking what was going on, and why the detective wanted a picture of Willow.

Althanea and Buffy looked at each other, the witch telling the Slayer that she'll be here for her.

"Mom," said Buffy as her voice broke. Buffy closed her eyes and shook her head while taking a deep breath. She then looked at Joyce before telling her that they lied to the police about Willow.

"What?" asked Joyce confused, "Buffy, what happened to Willow? What did you lie about and.. and we better call the detective in so that…"

"Mrs. Summers," said Althanea gently as she put a hand on Buffy's shoulder, "the police cannot do anything. I am certain that what the police will be told, and the account that they tell Willow's parents will bring hope to them."

Joyce saw Buffy looking down at the floor; the Slayer taking in a deep breath before her bottom lip quivered.

"Buffy?" asked Joyce as the Slayer looked back up at her, "make me understand. What's going on?"

Buffy sat down next to Joyce and, between fits of sobs, told a stunned Joyce everything; from her being a Slayer, to Willow being the one that helped them with Ted, to Willow's torture and beating. Then, finally, Buffy struggled to speak as she told Joyce that Willow was trapped in a Hell dimension.

"No," said Joyce her eyes open in shock while she looked at her daughter, who was, herself, looking down at the couch.. tears staining the cushion that she was sitting on, "Buffy, this…"

"It's true, Mrs. Summers," said Althanea as Joyce turned to her, "everything that Buffy told you is the truth. It is a lot to hear, but… but we need to be there for Willow's parents. We need to give them hope; if we tell them that their daughter's in hell then…"

"You're asking me to believe in… oh God," said Joyce as she stood up again and paced around on the carpet before looking at Buffy, "that my daughter's a… Slayer? And Willow… Willow's in Hell and…"

"I'm a Slayer, mom," whispered Buffy while wiping her eyes, "and there's something I haven't told you…"

"What?" asked Joyce as she sat down next to Buffy again, "what haven't you told me, Buffy?"

"It's my fault Willow's in Hell," sobbed Buffy as Althanea looked away when Joyce looked at her in shock. The reaction from the witch telling Joyce that there was something else that she wasn't being told. Joyce turned to her crying daughter, and then hugged her tight. Joyce gently asking the crying girl in her arms to explain things to her once again.

 **Rome, Italy, a thirty minutes later.**

Ira and Sheila had just finished leaving a message for Willow at their home in Sunnydale. The Rosenberg's believed that Willow was probably asleep, and wasn't able to hear the phone. The two of them were at a hospital near the airport waiting for someone to examine Sheila whose chest was still throbbing in pain.

"Ummm…" said Ira as he looked at a symbol that just appeared on his phone. There was a voice message waiting for him. Sheila looked at her husband as he flipped his phone opened again and accessed that message. He then waited for the message to start while telling Sheila that there must have been a delay in him getting the message all the way from the States.

"Hi dad," said Willow's voice as Ira smiled before telling Sheila that it was a message from Willow as the message continued, "I'm just going out with some friends. I know I said that I'll be going to sleep, or studying, but I figured it would be nice to get out of the house for a little bit. I miss you and mom.. I mean I know you guys are busy and all… and… and I just wanted to say that I miss you guys. And that I love you. I know we've talked about U.C. Sunnydale, Caltech, and MIT.. and well, I was hoping the two of you would go to MIT with me. You know? I mean after you come back in three weeks. Anyway, dad, I got to go. I love you, and tell mom I love her. Bye."

"Bye," whispered Ira as Sheila looked on while Ira prepared to play back the message so that Sheila could hear it, hoping that Willow's voice would ease the older redhead's pain. But just as he was about to press the button to replay the message, a call came in from an American number.

Confused since he didn't recognize the number displayed on his screen, Ira connected the call and then placed it on his ear. Shelia watched as her husband dropped the phone in shock with his mouth wide open. She saw that his face had turned pale before he started to move his lips, but no sound came out, and turned to looked at her.

It was then Sheila strained to hear what her husband was saying.

"Will… Willow," whispered Ira, "Will… Willow."

The throbbing increased in Sheila's chest as she bent down and reached for the fallen phone. She then picked it up and brought it to her ear. Her heart was beating wildly as she identified herself.

"Mrs. Rosenberg," said the female detective, "my name is Detective Trish Kennedy with the Sunnydale Police Department, I'm afraid we have some news about your daughter, Willow."

It was a few minutes later that a tearful Sheila and Ira left the hospital and grabbed a taxi back to the airport. There they bought tickets for another flight to Sunnydale. All the while the voice of Detective Kennedy in her head telling her that Willow was abducted.

A nightmare that Ira and Sheila never thought would happen to them.

Their daughter was missing.

 **BETA Mountain, Conference Room, 1000 hours.**

Willow looked out the window at the plains outside the mountain before she shifted her focus to her reflection and then turned around with her hands behind her back. She smiled at the large conference table, and then looked at the screens on the wall that showed various scans of the Earth, and the space above covered in red dots. Willow then looked at the clock on the wall, and the date before looking out of the window again.

The redhead was wearing the white uniform of the Series Five rangers, and today's the day that the Crown Empire was due to attack Earth thanks to the knowledge the Empire gained from a kidnapped Zachery Foxx. Willow remembered Niko's memories, and this was the day that the Earth defeated the Queen.

The day that Zachery was rescued, and the day he lost his wife forever. Willow turned around as a door slid open, and she smiled when Shane and Doc walked in. They nodded at Niko just as another door slid opened and in walked Commander Walsh, the Head of BETA, and the Commander of the Rangers.

"Sir?" asked Niko/Willow.

"Shane, I've gone through your proposal to rescue Zachery," said the Commander as he stood behind his chair, "as you know, several of our ships are in orbit to do their best to repel the Empire's vessels. We've received intelligence that they'll be here in thirty minutes. I know this has taken a long time to confirm thanks to the senator, but the mission to extricate Zachery has been approved.

Niko and the other rangers smiled, which allowed the Commander to continue as he turned to look at Shane.

"You have three Ranger Interceptors at your disposal," said the Commander as Shane nodded his head, "this idea's crazy, but it just may work."

"We know the Queen's coming, Commander," said Shane in a gritty voice, "we'll get her out of the picture, and then rescue Zach."

"Get to it then, Rangers," said the Commander, "bring him home."

"Yes, sir," said Willow nodding her head just as her surroundings faded, and she felt her skin burning. She smelled the odour of rotten flesh as the conference room was gone and she felt herself tied to a table. The redhead snapped her eyes open and looked around at the large room that had blood and various other body parts splattered on the walls. She tried to pull her hands from the restraints when she heard a thumping sound to her left. All the while she was hearing screams around her as she turned to look at a large four eyed demon with a large hanging tongue, and a mouth full of row, upon row of sharp teeth coming towards her on all fours. Willow started panting as the creature skittered towards her/ The redhead heard screams all around her, and she could just make out people being flayed and others who were hanging literally by their skin. But that didn't matter, what mattered was the pain she knew was coming… the pain she couldn't escape.

The pain.

She lost count of how many time a demon had bled her dry, only for her to be revived with the memory of her pain. She lost count of how many times her heart was torn out of her chest, the redhead watching it beat once last time while she was screaming in pain before everything turned black; and then she woke up again.

Willow lost count of everything.

She died painful deaths and was then revived. She remembered the horror and the pain.

The demon that jumped on top of her was new. Willow could smell death as it opened its mouth and roared in her face.

"Willow."

The redhead, who was covered in blood, slime that was dripping from the mouth of the demon that was now licking her face, and grime, turned to her left. She was afraid to smile; she remembered the pain when her face was ripped off, and she didn't want to relive that particular horror.

"Ariel," she breathed without moving her lips as tears gathered in her eyes.

"Do not speak, my child," replied Ariel as she walked forward, while floating over the blood on the stone floor. Willow saw that she was keeping her eyes right on her, and nowhere else. Not even at the demon that reared its head back while opening its mouth, and then tilting its head so that it was perpendicular to Willow's neck, "go back to your dream, Willow. I'm coming for you; help is coming for you. Just give me a little more time."

Ariel saw Willow crying while shaking her head.

"Do not lose hope, child," replied the old woman who had tears in her eyes, "you have been here for many years, and you must not lose your hope. Do you understand me? Do not lose hope… help is coming. Your humanity is still within you, despite what happens until you are saved, you will always have that, Willow."

Ariel watched as the demon grabbed Willow's head and straightened it until her eyes were looking at the ceiling where bodies were screaming in pain. Ariel then heard Willow scream when the demon's tongue stiffened, and its tip opened up to reveal a second mouth that opened to four rows of sharp teeth. The tongue retreated back into the demon's mouth, and then the demon leaned forward and bit into either side of Willow's neck. Ariel then closed her eyes as the tongue shot into the screaming Willow's neck, and started to eat her organs from the inside.

It was soon afterwards that the demon finish its meal, and then it skittered away. It was a few seconds later that Willow's body was alive once again, but she was screaming from the massive amount of pain that she had just experienced.

And all she could do was cry out in pain before sobbing. Her body wracked in pain.

'Help me!' was her only thought before she closed her eyes again, and started to dream.

TBC.


	17. Chapter 17

**Xander's Hospital Room, 0900 hours.**

How does one deal with loss?

More specifically, how does one deal with the loss of someone who not only died, but is currently trapped in a Hell dimension with no viable way of getting out? And is suffering unimaginable agony?

This was going through the stunned Xander's mind as he was propped up on the hospital bed while Cordelia was holding his hand. When he had woken up a few hours ago, the dizzy young man groaned when he felt his head throbbing in pain. The sound had startled Cordelia out of her own sleep before she looked up at him from her position with her head and forearms resting on the mattress. Xander saw the young woman smile, but the smile was only on her lips. It didn't reach her eyes. He then looked at Giles, and Jenny, who were fast asleep, and then back at Cordelia again.

He didn't see Willow, Buffy, or Althanea. And his heart raced in worry.

"C… Cord…" whispered Xander as he struggled to speak.

Cordelia got off her chair and reached for a jug of water on the side table. She then poured some of the liquid into a paper cup, placed a straw inside, and then brought the straw to his lips. While Xander was taking in water to quench his parched throat, Cordelia pressed the call-button for a nurse and waited. She then took the cup once Xander had finished drinking, and placed it back on the side-table. The dark haired young woman was afraid of the questions she knew were coming, and it wasn't too long before her fears came true.

"Wh… what happened?" He looked expectantly at Cordelia who was still looking at the cup on the table.

"Buf… Buffy? Will… Willow? Angelus?" he rasped as Cordelia turned to face him with wetness in her eyes before she grabbed Xander's hand. She then told the young man that the doctors needed to see him first to make sure that he was doing all right, and then they would talk.

"Bu… but… Willow… powers…?" His eyes tried to read Cordelia's expression. "What… happ..?"

"Shhh," whispered Cordelia as she stroked the young man's hand just as two nurses walked in, an action that woke up Giles and Jenny. They looked around confused for a few seconds before realizing where they were; they quickly got up off their chairs when they saw the nurses and the conscious Xander. The nurses asked Cordelia to stand to one side while one of them closed the curtain that surrounded the young man.

In was a few hours later that Xander was lucid enough to understand what Giles and the others were saying. He was stunned at the revelation from Giles that Willow had retained her powers and memories of who she had turned into during Halloween. And that she had requested that Giles hide that fact from both Xander and Buffy. Xander covered his mouth in astonishment upon hearing that Willow was Nighthawk, and that she was the one who had fought by Buffy's side all this time.

"I.. I should have known and…" muttered Xander, shaking his head in disbelief while rubbing the back of his head with both hands. However, he still didn't know where Willow was, Cordelia never gave him a straight answer. He looked anxiously at his girlfriend. "Where is she?"

Cordelia and Jenny looked at Giles just as Buffy ran into the room with Joyce and Althanea following close behind her. Giles was surprised to find Joyce with Buffy, he was even more surprised when the Slayer told him that she had told her mother everything before turning to Xander. Giles was stunned as he looked at Buffy, who was standing on the other side of the bed, holding Xander's hand, and then he turned to Joyce, who, he could tell, was still trying to deal with whatever it was that Buffy had told her. He saw that Althanea was gently holding onto the older blonde's shoulder as she looked at him, before looking at the injured Xander who asked everyone if Willow was alright.

"Why isn't she with you?"

It was the first time anyone of them had seen Xander sobbing uncontrollably after he heard what had happened. All the rest of them could do, was to stand around the bed nervously as he covered his eyes with his hands.

Tears went down his face while everyone remained silent.

A few minutes, Giles whispered that he knew people from the Council who could take the statue of Acathla away, and keep it somewhere where no-one would ever find it. He also said that the Council had immeasurable resources at its disposal, and that he was certain that there was a way to bring Willow back.

"I will find a way," whispered Giles as Xander nodded his head. He wiped his eyes, and just looked at Giles. He put the fact that Willow hid things from him, her oldest friend, to the back of his mind, and then turned his head and glared at Buffy with rage in his eyes.

"You," hissed Xander as Buffy looked away after releasing Xander's hand, "you did this.. you.. you wanted to trust Angel, you… you killed Willow, you sent her to Hell.. this is your fault, your fault."

"I know," whispered Buffy as she wrapped her hands around her body, and took a step back, while Joyce, who could feel the blonde's guilt, walked over to her and placed her hands on Buffy's shoulders.

"Stay the hell away from me," he rasped as Buffy looked back up at him with tears in her eyes, "stay the hell away from me."

"I…." mumbled Buffy.

"Stay away!" he yelled in anger before he coughed as Buffy turned and walked away, with Joyce behind her. Xander then looked down at the bed while Giles rushed out the door, and placed his hand on Buffy's shoulder. He turned her around gently, and looked into her eyes.

The two of them then hugged each other tight while Buffy cried, and Joyce stood by with her hands clasped together. Giles glanced over at Joyce, telling her that he'll explain anything else that she wants to know about Buffy and what had happened with Willow. Joyce nodded her head before Giles told Buffy to give Xander some time. That they had all gone through something traumatic, but they had to hold it together.

"For Willow's sake," whispered Giles, his voice threatening to break again, while Buffy nodded her head, "she'll need us to bring her back."

 **The Rosenberg Residence, several hours later.**

Ira and Sheila Rosenberg walked into a silent house, the only sound was coming from the door as it closed behind them. They had only just returned from Rome, and had gone directly to the Sunnydale Police Department after renting a car from the airport. They didn't want to wait for a cab that would, in return, have to wait for them outside the station with their luggage. They wanted their own car since they wanted… they needed to get to the police station first.

They had to find out what happened to their daughter.

Ira and Sheila were told by Detective Kennedy what had happened, and that Giles was the last person to see their daughter. She told them that Giles was badly beaten as well during his rescue attempt of Willow, and that he had seen things that he wished he could take back. The couple was then taken to a private room where the detective read out Giles' statement. Ira held on to Sheila's shoulder while doing everything he could to hold back a rasp f breath that would have made him cry while Detective Kennedy told them about the torture that Willow received at the hands of the assailants. Sheila collapsed into Ira's body sobbing, her face twisted in agony, as Detective Kennedy stopped mid-way between describing what happened to Willow in terms of the torture, and then the rape. Sheila sobbed for a few minutes while Ira, with tears streaming down his cheeks looked at the table, his body shaking, while imagining his daughter calling out for him. The detective then told the couple after some time that they were doing everything they could to find Willow, with the first thing being to send her picture to every law enforcement department in the United States.

"We'll be checking Sunnydale and its surrounding areas too." The detective said gently as Ira held on to Sheila tightly while nodding his head, "we'll do everything we can to find her."

That was a little more than an hour ago.

Ira and Sheila, who was wiping tears from her eyes, walked up the stairs slowly. Once they reached the top, Ira led Sheila slowly to Willow's room, and then opened the door before he looked in and held back a gasp. He saw Willow lying down on her stomach while typing at her laptop, and then he saw Willow looking back up at him, and giving him a toothy smile.

"Willow," whispered Ira as his voice broke and he covered his mouth with his hand. Sheila held on tight to Ira's hand as she watched Willow at her desk studying. She saw the image of her daughter look up from her books, and then turn to her.

"Hi, mom," greeted the redhead, "just studying you know… yep, just studying... so…. How was your day?"

Their respective visions of Willow lasted for a few seconds before they vanished, leaving the Rosenberg's feeling alone in the room. Sheila trudged, with Ira holding to her shoulders, to Willow's bed and sat down with her husband right next to her. She reached back for the redhead's pillow which was laying across the middle of the bed, took it in her arms, and then started to sob while she hugged it and took in Willow's scent. Ira teared up as he placed and arm around his wife's shoulders, and was holding her tight. He looked around the room and noticed that everything was as they knew Willow would leave it.

Of course, what they didn't know was that Cordelia, Althanea, and Jenny had come by earlier that day to remove all evidence that they were there last night performing a spell. In addition, they had taken away everything they had found related to Nighthawk on the carpet in her room.

The three of them left everything else alone.

And then they left before Ira and Sheila returned to the States.

It would be later that night Giles, Jenny, Althanea, Buffy, Cordelia, and Joyce would come to Willow's home. They told Ira and Sheila the same story they had told the police, while hiding the real truth from the two of them.

"Don't lose hope," said Jenny as Ira and Sheila nodded their heads, wiping their tears from their eyes while Giles held on to Sheila's hand.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't have done more." Giles tightened his hold on Sheila's hand as his voice broke, and all she could do was break down again and nod her head, "I am truly so very sorry."

Ira and Sheila remained in Sunnydale and taught at the university. They swore that they would stay in the city until they got Willow back; in fact, they were going to forego their conferences and special invitations just so that they could stay in Sunnydale and wait for their daughter. Giles had heard many things about Ira and Sheila from quips that Willow would make, and his expectations were dashed as he saw how upset they were at that moment.

'She's their daughter,' thought Giles to himself, 'of course they would be upset. They're human… they'd be upset. They'd be upset.'

Ira and Sheila would keep Willow's room as it was when they found it. Even the pillow was exactly how Willow had left it. Her books, her computer; that room was going to be just as it was for their daughter when she was found.

They changed nothing at all.

 **Los Angeles, Six months later.**

Six months.

That's how long it had been since Angel left Sunnydale for Los Angeles. His memory of what he did to Willow, a girl who was only good to him while he was ensouled, burned in his mind. He saw images of the redhead wherever he went, all were looking sadly at him while he searched for a way to get her back.

That was what he promised Buffy in a letter he had sent her a few weeks after leaving Sunnydale. It was a letter that had Buffy's eyes tearing up since not only had he not said good-bye in person, but he was the one who caused Willow to open the doorway to Acathla's hell, and then there was Willow's rape that made the Slayer sick to her stomach. She asked Giles about it… she heard Angelus implying it during his taunts to her back in the mansion, and it was implied again at the hospital when Giles couldn't finish what he wanted to tell the detective about what he saw being done to Willow.

Buffy just wanted confirmation. So she asked Giles a few days after Xander was released from the hospital.

The Slayer vomited when Giles told her the truth of what had happened that day.

As she read the letter, Buffy wanted to tear it apart and just die, but all she could do was sit on her bed, alone, while imagining that Willow was sitting right next her.

"I'm sorry, Will," whispered Buffy as she looked at the letter that she had crumpled up into a ball, and then looked at the image of Willow, who faded away.

Buffy never wrote Angel back.

And Angel never expected to be written back. Many of his underground contacts led him to other contacts, who knew certain rituals and spells for opening gateways to other dimensions. Angel left people alone so that he could concentrate solely on bringing Willow back.

He sent a heartfelt apology to Giles via a letter as well. He wrote that he sent one to Buffy, and like what he told Buffy, he didn't deserve forgiveness. All he said was that he was working on bringing Willow back to Earth. Angel would get a letter from Giles months later saying that the Watcher hated him for everything he had done, that he single-handedly destroyed an innocent girl in every way possible; he destroyed her physically, he destroyed her spirit, and most importantly, her innocence. Angel read that Giles wanted to find him, and kill him… but that would not bring Willow back. Giles reluctantly admitted that he was doing everything he could to search for a way as well, but he was hitting one wall after another.

It would be later that Angel heard about the Powers That Be from a half-human, half-demon man named Doyle. Doyle joined Angel and Lily Houston, a woman that Angel saved during the incident with Ford and Spike trying to lure Buffy to a club where the patrons had romanticized views about vampires. He had saved her again three weeks after coming to Los Angeles, and since then, she had been by his side; both as thanks, and because she had no other place to go. It would be within a week of meeting Doyle that Angel found out her had a direct line to the Powers that Be in the form of visions, and these visions were of people that Angel needed to help.

"It's a means for your redemption." He told Angel in private a few hours after the first vision.

"I want a meeting with them."

"Who?" Doyle asked while Lily was taking a shower in a motel room that they were using in the meantime, "you mean the Powers?"

"They want me to help?" Angel leaned forward on the table with Doyle seated right opposite him, and scowled, "then I want their help."

"It doesn't work like that, Angel."

"I… don't… care," hissed Angel, keeping his voice low, not wanting to concern Lily, "they want me to help others? All I'm am asking for is this one favour. A meeting."

"No promises."

Doyle frowned as Angel leaned back on his chair.

Angel never told Lily what he did back in Sunnydale before leaving. Instead, he told her that he needed to save a friend he had hurt badly. It would be months later, after receiving Giles' letter, that Angel, with the help of Doyle, met with the Powers That Be in a secluded cave.

That meeting was unsuccessful since the Powers didn't see Willow as their Champion; not like how they saw Angel and Buffy.

"I am no Champion," bellowed Angel at a flickering light.

The Powers didn't budge, saying that it was Willow's choice to do what she did. She had chosen to take up arms by using her powers in secret against the darkness by helping Buffy. Everything that happened was a result of choices she had made on her own free will.

"She did not open the doorway to hell out of her own free will!" bellowed Angel while he turned and glared at his surroundings, his voice echoing in the chamber, "she was forced to open the doorway. I forced her to open the doorway; I will take her place."

"No." that one word uttered by what seemed like hundreds upon thousands of men, women, and children; all speaking in unison, which made Angel put his hands up and yell.

"I demand…."

"You demand nothing! Vampire!" The chamber shook as the voices roared while Angel tried to maintain his balance, "you made your choice! She made her choice in battling the darkness with our champions, you and the Slayer! She knew the risks, and now she has paid the price!"

"Please." Angel's voice broke as he fell onto his knees, his shoulders slumped forward while he looked up at the ceiling and weakly cried out, "help me save her. Please, help me save her."

"She is not our champion, vampire." The voices spoke out calmly as Angel looked down at the ground, tears falling from his eyes to the ground, "her life or death, to us, is inconsequential to the grand scheme of things. She has fallen, others will rise in her place; and you and the Slayer Buffy Summers, our chosen Champions, will have allies to fight the coming battles."

"She is not inconsequential and…."

Angel stopped talking while he looked up at the ceiling of the chamber, with his brows furrowed, at what he just heard. He was sure that the voices claimed Willow was someone else's champion; and the vampire repeated what the Powers had just told him.

"Yes, she is the champion of another."

"Then why doesn't this… this thing make him or herself known," asked Angel as he hurried to his feet, "I'm sure that…"

"There are reasons that you do not need to know vampire," said the voices that were all around him, "she is not important."

"But she is to me; she is my champion," said a female voice as Angel turned around, only to find himself looking at what he thought was a woman, from the silver and cream dress she was wearing under a white cloak, her head covered with a hood that covered her face in shadow. Not even the flickering light of the torches on the walls, or the flickering flame on the pedestal that separated the two of them, could penetrate the darkness covering her face.

"Then save her!" cried Angel at the unknown woman.

"I cannot interfere," replied the woman. Angel could hear the regret in her voice as she seemed to turned her head around, and look over her shoulder. Angel looked behind her, and wondered if she saw something that he didn't, and then looked back at the hood covered head that turned to face him again, "I am being watched. The location where Willow lies would require a great deal of my power to bring her forth, the others will sense that power being used to interfere in these planes of existence. And I have no intention of being punished by spending my time in Hell, I have my own future… a future I have seen. Alternative futures where the Earth is destroyed if I do not do what I am meant to do, but that does not include helping Willow."

"Then why are you here?" cried Angel as he smashed his fist onto the pedestal in the middle of the cavern that held the flickering light.

"To tell you to continue the search," said the woman, "this is your time to gain redemption, Liam O'Conner."

"How… how do you know my name?" asked Angel shaking his head in disbelief, "I… I never…"

"The Powers are right," said the woman as she looked up at the ceiling, and then back at Angel, "you and Buffy Summers are their champion, and Willow is mine. Please, help her. I will give you one piece of advice, help the helpless… and continue the search. Eventually, everything will come together. Save my Champion."

Angel saw the woman vanish in a flash of bright white light, and he was alone again with the voices of the Powers.

"Leave now, Vampire," said the voices, "you have heard what you needed to hear. Fulfil the promise you made to us to do our bidding. Now go!"

Wordlessly, Angel strode out of the cave, knowing that he'll gain no more information by pushing the Powers that Be. However, he did wonder about the woman; who was she? And why was Willow her champion? He made a mental note to send a letter to Giles about what he learned from speaking with the Powers, and the mysterious woman.

As agreed with the Powers that Be, Angel started to help the helpless. He, Doyle, and Lily helped the people in Doyle's visions, the first of whom, ironically, was Cordelia. She was surprised that Angel was in L.A, but told him that she was furious at him about what happened to Willow. Angel was thankful that Lily wasn't there as Cordelia laid into him; in the end, he agreed with everything that Cordelia said.

"I have a friend who…" Angel was interrupted, before he could finish what he wanted to say, when Cordelia asked what he was doing at the party. The former Sunnydale resident continued to say that one of the party-goers was a producer her Uncle had introduced her to by phone, and she was here to meet him.

"This guy's involved with the biggest names in Los Angeles," said Cordelia." So.. please, just stay away from me, Angel."

But Angel didn't stay away. Later that night, he saved Cordelia from being fed on by the producer and his henchmen who happened to be all vampires. While Cordelia was grateful for the rescue, she told Angel that he had a long way to go before he got on her good side.

"Not saying that I have a good side," she said looking at Angel after the rescue, "but… you said this friend of yours gets visions to help people? Then keep on doing that. Maybe one day things will change, but for right now? Sorry, Angel, I'm trying to live my own life."

"I understand."

"Take care, Angel,"

And then Cordelia walked away from Angel. He would find out a month later that she had gotten her first big breakthrough into television, a part in a commercial. And then then two months later, she got her start in a day-time soap opera. All Angel could do was wish her good luck.

 **Acathla's Hell, three hundred years later.**

As Willow hung by her hands, swinging over the slick floor, a floor made slick by her blood being spilled over many years. Willow lost track of how long she had been down here, all she remembered was the pain of her heart and other organs being ripped out of her body, she'd die, and then she'd come back to life once again; her whole body intact.

But she'd feel the pain.

She bowed her head and looked at her blood drenched naked body, while trying to dig into her mind for the memories she would always play. Memories that were pushed own to the deepest regions of her mind because of the intense pain she found her in after every 'session'. She remembered a yellow crayon and crying when it broke, she remembered a white light out of the corner of her eyes when she was in the kitchen years ago, she remembered an old man in a library, a blonde with a wooden stake, and dark haired young man.

But she couldn't remember their names. Willow opened her mouth to speak, but her lips were dry and they cracked; making the young woman hiss in pain. A few strands of white hair come down her face while her head was bowed, she barely remembered what colour it was when she came in the cell. She remembered being in the same cell, tortured, beaten, and then had her organs ripped out every single day.

At least she thought it was days. Willow didn't know if the demon with the antlers came in every hour, every twelve hours, every day, every week, or every year. She didn't know how long she had been here. But Willow knew she was here for a long time. She looked to her left and saw a hung pile of hearts, half eaten hands, feet, lungs, every organ was taken out and then eaten up by the demons outside.

She had never been outside.

It wasn't too long, while her body was swinging in the air, the antlered demon having removed her bindings to the floor long ago, that the wooden door opened. Willow looked up and saw a man walk into the cell, and then close the door behind him. Willow, whose shoulders were burning, looked ta the man who was dressed smartly in a black suit and trousers, with a white shirt underneath, complete with a red tie. She saw that his eyes were fiery red, as was his hair, and his shoes were black.

Willows eyes were drawn to the bottle of clear liquid in his left hand. She licked her lips while looking at the water, but the cracks made her wince as she closed her eyes in pain.

"Willow Rosenberg," said the man as he walked up to Willow who opened her eyes and looked at the man. Willow had no more resistance to offer, all she could do was look on as the man caressed her cheeks with his hand. She looked into his eyes as he brushed his hand against her bare neck, and then to her chest. He brushed his hand on the outline of her left breast, and then brought the finger, which was smeared with Willow's blood, to his lips and closed his eyes in ecstasy. He then opened them and tilted his head with a smile, "simply delicious."

Willow looked at the man as he turned around and walked to the pile of hearts in the corner of her cell, his shoes making 'squish' sounds while stepping in the blood all around them. She saw him pick up a heart, turn around, and then with his hand dripping with blood... he bit into it.

Willow closed her eyes and looked away. She could hear the man walking back towards her, telling her to open her eyes.

"Or I will rip out your throat," said the man, "and I will never come back with this deal of a lifetime."

Willow gulped, opened her eyes, and then looked at the serious look on the man's face. A serious face that suddenly formed a smile as he threw her heart to the floor. He then used his bloody hand to open the bottle cap before he brought it to his lips while watching her watch him. He smiled before he took a swig of crystal clear water from the bottle, and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"So my deal?" said the man as he slowly paced the floor in front of Willow, "listen to what I have to say, and then I'll let you have a drink of this oh-so-crystal clear water. Understood?"

Willow nodded her head at the man, who grinned.

"My name is Borzan, I'm one of Acathla's lieutenants," said the man, "now… I know how much pain you've been in, and I know how much your soul-enhanced meat-bag of a body is coveted by all of the demons in this realm. Here's my deal… you're going to continue to be a source of meat; as are the other humans we have down here. Oh.. did you know that more come? Especially those who swear by Acathla.. it's pathetic, really. Anyway, they're a great source of meat… but yours? Yours is special… you have a soul. So, you'll still be carved up and served, but…. But, I can take away the pain in exchange for…. Are you ready? Nod your head, if you're ready to hear the deal of a lifetime."

Willow nodded her head. She knew there was no other choice.

"I take away the pain," said Borzan, "in exchange for you torturing human beings."

Willow eyes opened wide at the choice she was given.

"I want an answer now," whispered Borzan as he leaned in, "yes, or no? I take away the pain, in exchange for you causing pain. You'll be given on the job training and all, don't worry about that. You'll also have the freedom to be creative about how you want to torture the poor idiots; and in return, you have no more pain. But you'll still be a prime food source. Well?"

Willow's eyes teared up as the implications of what the monster in front of her was saying; destroying other human beings in exchange for no more pain. Willow started sobbing as Borzan cooed at her before saying that her time was almost up. Willow knew she was going to have to live with her decision, she hated the monster in front of her, she hated herself for the decision she was about to make.

Borzan gave her a sip of the bottled water; something that cleared Willow's parched throat. Once the bottle was taken away from her, Willow bowed her head.

"Yes," she whispered as tears ran down her cheeks before looking up at the smiling creature before her, "yes."

"Good," said Borzan, "I'll be back later, you'll have so much fun."

As Borzan closed the door behind him, the demon smiled to himself while he walked away from her cell, the entire hallway being filled with screams of the damned.

'This is the ultimate torture for you,' he thought to himself, 'the destruction of your humanity, you just don't know it yet.'

Willow was released from her bonds later that day, after having her pain removed. She would still have her heart and other organs ripped out, but she felt no pain. For the next hundred years, Willow felt no pain, while at the same time, she tortured humans sent to Acathla's hell. All the while Borzan looked on with glee as Willow ripped apart one human after another with blades, hammers, various weapons of war, and even her bare hands. They would heal again, and then Willow would start their torture all over again. They would scream while Borzan watched Willow destroy them.

And then later, he would watch as Willow was ripped apart for her flesh, organs, and bones.

Willow could feel her humanity slipping away. She tried to hold on to as much as she could, but where the first few times had her retching on the floor after she made the first cut on her victims; every subsequent time she tortured humans made it easier for her to handle herself. The warmth of her soul was still within her, but she felt as if she was losing something.

After hundred years of torture, Willow was barely holding on. She was trying to fight, but she felt that she was losing herself.

She was losing hope that the blonde, in her fading memories, wasn't coming for her. Neither was the old man.

In her hundredth year of torturing, she heard whispers in the hallways from other demons. A portal from which the human souls are brought to this Hell existed.

'A way out,' thought Willow to herself over the screams of her victim, the same one she had been slicing, cutting, injecting, chipping, and chopping, among other methods of torture, for twenty years.

She would continue to listen to the whispers, and eventually found out where the portal was located. It was two floors down; the way out of Hell was so close. One day, she was led away from her latest torture victim by a demon. She looked over her shoulder at the young woman, and then at the table of jagged knives and stakes. Screaming, Willow grabbed a knife, turned, ducked underneath the demon's arm, and dove the large knife into its crotch. She then ran out of the door.

She was being chased by demons as she ran through the hallway. She could hear thuds behind her as she fell down the stairs, before getting up at one of the landings. She then quickly got up and ran; she ran as fast as she could. She entered a hallway, dodging one demon after another while she looked straight ahead.

Then Willow saw it.

A square, shimmering blue portal hovering in the air.

She kept on running when suddenly a blur of black and red hit the side of her face, and she slammed onto the floor… skidding backwards for a few feet. Willow felt herself being lifted up by her throat, and since her body didn't feel any pain, she didn't wince at all form what was sure to be a very painful impact with the floor.

"Open your eyes," commanded a familiar voice. Willow opened her eyes to look at Borzan holding her up effortlessly with one hand. She looked at the blue portal, and then heard Borzan snap his fingers, and the portal vanished, "did you really think that an important portal would be kept here? Did you!"

Willow's bottom lip trembled when she saw his eyes turn red, she felt her heart racing as a chill went up her spine.

"This was a test, I wanted to see what you would do," said Borzan, "I gave you a good life in hell… you had freedom, and a pain-free existence. And you betrayed me."

"No," Willow's body trembled as she struggled to speak, "please, no."

"Your pain will return a hundred fold!" bellowed Borzan, "I will destroy everything you are until you are a mindless creature, a broken human with no shred of humanity left in you. Until all you are is food. You will be reanimated in your cell, and you will hurt… you will hurt when we tear your flesh, when we suck the marrow out of your bones, and when we pound you to dust. You will feel the pain during, and after.. and I will enjoy it."

"No," Willow begged as her eyes teared up, "no… please."

Borzan touched Willow's forehead with his free hand, and mumbled a spell.

Willow screamed out loud as pain returned to her body. She couldn't hear anything but her own scream. The pain hit her as if she was hit by a meteor. All the beatings and torture she endured from the time her pain was taken away, until she was slammed to the floor, and then picked up just a few seconds ago… all the pain rushed back to her.

All she did was scream as she was thrown onto the floor. The demons and Borzan watched her as she curled up into a foetal position while she continued to scream in pain.

"Eat her," hissed Borzan as the demons that surrounded her, leaped onto her. The redhead released louder screams, which soon vanished after the white-haired young woman was ripped apart, leaving only a puddle of blood on the floor. Borzan smirked before turning around, and walking away.

TBC.s


	18. Chapter 18

**Sunnydale, In that same six-month window since Willow's death.**

Things had changed over the past six months in Sunnydale.

Willow's case was still on-going with her parents, Buffy, Giles, and separately, Xander pushing for the search to continue even though the latter three knew the truth of what happened. However, the case was already on the way to becoming cold. After many man-hours and various leads that went nowhere, Willow's case was on the road to being put on ice. Giles had spent months searching for ways to bring the redhead back to Earth, but he and the Council were stymied at every turn; everything was a dead-end. Everything he tried for months afterwards failed as well, even with Angel's help from Los Angeles.

Until then, Giles and the others were stuck. However, he did get the letter from Angel telling him about the conversation he had With the Powers that Be, the woman he met in the cavern, and Willow being her champion. Giles wrote back saying that he'll continue doing his own research on this woman, but with nothing else to go on in regards to who she was, or what group of higher beings she belonged to, there wasn't much he could do.

In the meantime, Giles, Althanea, and Jenny helped with the search for a way to bring Willow back. The Watcher didn't tell the women that he was in contact with Angel, deciding that it would be better not to mention his name unless he discovered something that would help them in getting Willow back from Acathla's hell.

After six months following Willow's death, and the search for a way to bring her back to Earth, came the news that there was another Slayer in Sunnydale. It was Buffy who met her during her patrol; the blonde Slayer was surrounded by seven vampires, and nearly lost until the new Slayer, Faith, jumped in to help.

Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes he had made with Willow, Giles wanted to make sure that Faith was actually well taken care off. Buffy, on the other hand, didn't want Faith to fight... she wanted the new Slayer to go home and be with her own family, if she had any; Buffy told her Watcher and Faith after the fight, once they returned to the library, that she had seen enough people die… she didn't want any more blood of other Slayers, or her friends, on her hands.

However, Faith refused to leave. Giles could see that she was frightened about something, and when he asked her, she refused to answer. So he made a call to the Watcher's Council immediately while Faith was in the library, and asked about Faith and her Watcher. He wanted to know how it was that a Watcher could leave his or her Slayer alone. To the man's surprise, the Council told him that not only did Faith have no family, her Watcher was killed by an ancient vampire, named Kakistos.

When Giles went to Faith, who was sitting on a chair talking to Buffy with her feet propped up on the table, the Watcher asked her why she didn't mention that her Watcher was killed. Buffy and Giles then noticed the look of sadness that appeared on the Slayer's face for an instant before it was replaced with anger.

"I don't need you people," Faith had said as she got up, and then was walking around the table. "I'm gone and…"

"You are staying here, Faith," determined Giles as Faith turned and narrowed her eye-brows at the older man.

"You've got this Carrot-guy coming after you, right?" asked Buffy with are arms crossed over her chest.

"Kakistos," corrected Giles.

"I got him," Faith replied with her hands up as she stepped back, "and…"

"Kendra died because I wasn't there," said Buffy taking a step towards Faith with her arms crossed over her chest, "I'm not having another Slayer die, no way. I let her die, and I let my friend die because I screwed up. There is no way I'm repeating that mistake."

"Where are you staying?" asked Giles looking directly at Faith, who noticed the sad look on the blonde's face when she mentioned that friend; a look that lasted for a few seconds, before it was gone once Buffy realized where she was. Deciding to ask Buffy about this friend of hers later, Faith then looked directly at Giles, and shook her head.

"The motel… look, I don't need your charity and…"

"It's not charity," replied Giles as he walked up to the new Slayer, "a motel's a public place, a vampire can go in and out. No, you are not staying there. What I am insisting on, is that you stay with one of us."

"But…" began Faith while shaking her head again and waving her arms about just as Buffy raised her hand and interrupted the Slayer.

"No buts," replied Buffy, "I'll talk to my mom, she knows I'm a Slayer and… and now she'll know that there's another one in town. You're staying with us."

This was something that surprised Faith.

She looked into the eyes of Buffy and Giles to make sure that she wasn't being deceived; it was not the first time that she had been tricked in her young life. She ran away from her home when she was fourteen and was living on the streets of Boston, away from her murdering-conman of a father, and her alcoholic-prostitute mother. It was a year later that she was activated and found by her Watcher, and then her Watcher died protecting her from Kakistos. Faith shook her head when she heard Giles insisting that she will not stay in the motel, while Buffy went to call Joyce.

It would be that night that a rigid Giles and Buffy moved Faith's things from her room, to a spare room in the Summers house. The stunned Faith was welcomed by Joyce, and then she met Jenny, who Giles had called to meet them. And this was followed by Althanea, who was still working at Sunnydale Mercy, while in the meantime trying to find spells with the help of the Devon Coven that would call Willow back from the depths of Hell.

That night, once Giles, who told Faith that he would like to see how far her Watcher had trained her the next day, had left with Jenny and Althanea, Faith looked silently at the pictures on the mantle. There was one picture that had a silver edged photo frame; that of Buffy, a young man, and a red haired girl sitting on grass while laughing at the camera. The dark haired Slayer didn't notice Buffy walking up to, and then standing, right next to her until it was too late, a fact that startled her.

Faith watched Buffy pick up the picture frame, and then smile sadly at the picture, before she carefully placed it back on the mantle. Faith glanced over at Joyce who was in the foyer, who looked sadly at them, before she turned and headed to the dining room. Turning to Buffy when she heard Joyce taking the plates away from the dining table, Faith opened her mouth to ask a question, but Buffy pre-empted her and spoke.

"I lost my best friend," said Buffy as she looked at the photo-frame, "the Slayer before you died while she was doing her job and.."

"My Watcher told me this is a crazy gig," replied Faith who had her hands in her jeans, "we die, it's what happens to a Slayer."

"That's what Giles told me after Kendra died," replied Buffy softly, "but I wasn't there. I know you have a lot of questions, and I'll answer them.. but not now. I'll make a promise that I'll help you… I can't lose another Slayer like I lost Kendra."

"You said you lost a friend too," muttered Faith nodding at the picture, "that her? The redhead?"

"I'm not going to repeat the same mistakes," replied Buffy cryptically while she looked at the pictures. Faith narrowed her eyes at the blonde Slayer before looking the picture again. She was wondering if she should push Buffy for more information, but decided against it… at least for now. She glanced around the living room and liked how warm it felt... although she wouldn't admit it to Buffy. However, she was thankful for the clean bed she saw up in the spare room. It was unlike the motel room she booked herself into once she arrived in Sunnydale.

Two nights later, Faith and Buffy were attacked by Kakistos and his minions while they were conducting a patrol near some warehouses. Fearful of the ancient vampire due to what he did to Faith's Watcher, she ran away as fast as she could, her arm trembling in fear so much that she dropped her stake. Faith could hear Buffy calling for her as she ran, her heart was racing while she recalled Diana Dormer's screams while shewas forced to watch. Faith remembered Dormer telling her, before the encounter with Kakistos, that if anything happened to her, then Faith was to head directly for Sunnydale.

"It's human to be afraid, Faith." The dark haired Slayer stopped as she remembered one of the first things that Dormer told her during their training sessions in her gentle voice, "sometimes it's best to run, you can gather your strength and then, when you are ready, fight back on your own terms."

Faith turned around to see Buffy fighting Kakistos, while four of his vampire minions just looked on, one of them holding the others back. The dark haired Slayer shook her head before running towards a dumpster and picking up a wooden four-by-four. She then ran back towards Buffy and told her to duck. Buffy crouched down as Faith slammed the wood into Kakistos' chest, dusting him.

Buffy looked at the pile of dust on the floor, and then at his minions who were staring in surprise at her and Faith before running away. The blonde then turned her head towards a panting Faith looking at where Kakistos was just standing. She saw the dark haired Slayer take in a deep breath before looking at her, and helping her to her feet.

"You came back," said Buffy when she saw that Faith was about to say something, "that's what matters."

Faith nodded at Buffy before the both of them headed home. Faith would start her training with Buffy and Giles the next day, and eventually, a few days later, Giles asked the Watchers Council for help in enrolling Faith into Sunnydale High. However, Faith said that she wasn't into the 'whole High School thing'. She remained stubborn about not being a part of the Sunnydale High family, with eventually Joyce, Jenny, and Althanea coming up with a compromise for the dark haired Slayer; home schooling, and then the GED at the end of teh school year. It was something that Faith accepted, while sticking her tongue out at BUffy.

As for Xander?

He was still with Cordelia, who sometimes would help Buffy with her patrol in the six months before Faith's arrival, and even after. Cordelia was aware that, despite everything that happened, Buffy still needed to protect them from the darkness that attracted vampires and demons to Sunnydale. She had also met Faith a few days after she moved in with Joyce, but Xander had refused to have anything to do with Buffy. He had minimal contact with the blonde Slayer; an occasional nod to her when they passed each other in school was all. However, he would occasionally talk with Faith at the library, when she'd come to study with Giles, and when Buffy wasn't around.

Things changed when it was time for Buffy's Cruciamentum two weeks later.

Giles had refused to put Buffy's life in danger for the savage trial, so the Council had sent another Watcher, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, to replace him before he could tell Buffy, or even Faith, anything. The older Watcher was knocked out at his home, and then held prisoner in Santa Barbara by a Special Operations Team for three days. During those three days, Wesley, who told Buffy and Faith that Giles was called away to London for an urgent assignment, had been dosing Buffy with drugs when Faith wasn't there. And eventually, the blonde Slayer lost her powers.

Not knowing why Buffy was losing her powers was something that concerned her and Faith.

Buffy and Faith had gone to Wesley, but he pretended to be curious as well in regards to what was happening with Buffy's powers. They went to Althanea on the third day that Buffy was feeling weak; the nurse checked for anything that was magically related, but didn't find anything. She then drew Buffy's blood, and told her that she'll run a test on it and that the results would be coming in the next day.

Later that night of the third day, Xander was at home when he got a frantic call from Giles. Xander heard Giles saying something about being kidnapped, and that Buffy was in danger because she didn't have her powers.

"She could die, Xander," yelled Giles over the phone as Xander heard shouts and a commotion in the background while the Watcher screamed, "Faith won't be enough and… help Buffy. Xander, you must… she'll die!"

"Giles?" yelled Xander, as he got up from his bed, before the line went silent, "Giles!"

That began the slow repair of Xander and Buffy's friendship.

He, along with Faith, thanks to help from Althanea using a locator spell on Buffy, found the blonde Slayer in an abandoned asylum fighting an insane vampire. Xander watched as Buffy was thrown into a wall just as he and Faith crashed through a blocked door. The resulting fight ended with Xander slightly injured, and Buffy killing the vampire thanks to help from Faith. It would be back at the library that the three of them confronted Wesley, who congratulated Buffy on passing the test. He told the blonde Slayer exactly the Cruciamentum entailed, and that she passed. He then continued to tell her that Giles was already on his way back from his 'urgent' assignment.

"Screw you," hissed Faith while crossing her arms over one another, and shaking her head at Wesley.

"This is a Council tradition, Faith," said Wesley.

"Leave my city," demanded Buffy who had bruises on her face, and was bleeding from a cut on her forehead.

"I am sorry," said Wesley, who shocked the two Slayers with what he said next, "but I can't… you see, Mr. Giles has been fired from the Council for wanting to tell you about the Cruciamentum before it started. So, I am your new Watcher."

While Giles was fired, he was still the librarian at the High School. And his first reaction of meeting Wesley brought chuckles to Buffy, Xander, and Faith.

He punched the new Watcher. And broke his nose.

In the months since the Cruciamentum, things had gone from bad to worse in terms of the supernatural. Faith, Buffy, Xander, who agreed to help Buffy, but refused to forgive her for what happened with Angelus and Willow, Althanea, Jenny, and Giles had to deal with threats that distracted them from their research on getting Willow back. Buffy refused to tell Wesley about their ongoing researchck, not trusting the man after what he, and the Council, did to her during the Cruciamentum. Faith had also agreed with Buffy, the Dark haired Slayer was told about Willow, and what happened to her nearly a month after Buffy's Cruciamentum. She knew that Buffy was uneasy about telling her sister Slayer the details of what happened, so she let Buffy take her time.

Eventually Faith learned everything, and she felt for the blonde who took the blame for what happened to her best friend.

"My life has been hell," whispered Faith as they sat on Buffy's bed, the latter holding on tight to Mr. Gordo, her stuffed pig, "but knowing someone, especially someone you consider a best friend, actually in Hell.. compared to that? What I've been through is nothing. Do.. do you think that she's.."

"Giles said that the Hell dimension she's in is… is full of torment for those who have souls," whispered Buffy shaking her head, "I can't imagine what she's going through and… and he said time flows differently. She's been gone for more than six months, and for her it could be hundreds of years. And we're no closer to getting her back… every research we've done has led to a dead-end. Some spells will let in hell-beasts, or other pure demons to Earth if we open a doorway to Hell. Basically, the world will end. So we need to find a better way."

"Then we still search," said Faith softly as she imagined Willow making that decision to end her life, "we don't stop."

In the meantime, only Giles knew that Angel was working on his end to find something.

Eventually, Wesley was brought into the research team to bring Willow back once the Scoobies realized that they needed the resources of the Council. Wesley listened on, stunned at What Giles and Buffy had told him, with Jenny, Althanea, and the others all surrounding him at Giles' apartment. Wesley's voice was shaking when he said that Acathla was being kept deep underground while protected by magical charms and wards, but he never knew that he was awakened.

"Angelus used Willow's blood to wake him," stated Giles as he looked at Wesley's stunned face, "she was… I saw Angelus… listen, I'm not going to say what happened to her. All I'll say is that at the end, she was brave. Acathla opened his mouth, and the vortex formed to take everything to his hell. She was brave, she told me to stab her… and I did."

"Oh Lord," muttered Wesley as he paced the carpet in Giles' living room, "why didn't you tell the Council?"

"Would it have mattered?" asked Giles as Wesley stopped, and looked away from the older man, "they couldn't have done anything, and by the time they would have come to a decision to act on Acathla's awakening? We'd be in Hell right now… Willow made her sacrifice to save the rest of us."

"As much as I think the Council is a major pain," said Buffy, her jaw setting in anger before she spoke again, "we need resources."

"A way to bring her back, without the backlash of having demons or hell-spawn appearing on Earth," explained Althanea, "the Devon Coven's still searching for a way, but all the spells they have found involves the return of someone who was sent down to hell, along with various doorways opening that will lead to the end of the world. A demonic take-over."

"We cannot have that," whispered Wesley while rubbing the back of his head, "but you know the Council won't help, for that exact same reason."

"I'm sure the Council's restricted sections have something that can help us," said Giles, "I'm fired from the Council, but you're not. We need access to that section of the Council archives, Wesley… we're asking you not to tell the Council about this. But we need help to bring back Willow, please, but I'm afraid that the Council will interfere... and we can't let them interfere so I'm asking you to work around them, use your contacts, Wesley. She's in hell suffering unimaginable torment, and.. and we need to get her back. No matter what she ends up as being, we need her back. We need to help her return to who she was."

Wesley closed his eyes and nodded his head. He reached out to his contacts in the Council's archives, and started a search. However, the still unsuccessful search for a way to get Willow back was derailed with the discovery that the Mayor of Sunnydale, Ricard Wilkins the Third, was attempting to ascend; to become an Old One.

The Scoobies knew that Willow can't come back if the Mayor, had killed them after achieving his goal of ascension during graduation day.

The Mayor's deputy was the one who told the Scoobies the Mayor's plans after having a close call with Buffy and Faith. The two Slayers had just finished fighting ten vampires that served a demon called Balthazar. In the aftermath of the fight, the Deputy Mayor, who was hiding in the shadows, reached out and grabbed Buffy's shoulder. The Slayer, who was already full of adrenaline, grabbed the man she thought was a vampire, and then pushed him into the side of a dumpster. Faith, who was in the same situation as Buffy, dashed past the blonde Slayer with a stake raised high in the air.

"Faith! No!" screamed Buffy when she sensed something, the man she hit was a human.

Faith stopped the stake just before it pierced the man's chest, and looked back at Buffy with her eyes wide open at the relief of Buffy's face. Faith then looked at the Deputy Mayor's terrified face, suddenly thankful for the training sessions in improving her reflexes with Giles and Wesley.

"He's human," she panted while running towards Faith, who quickly put away the stake, and stepped back from the deputy, "aren't you?"

"Ye.. yes," replied the Deputy Mayor as Faith and Buffy helped him up to his feet.

The two Slayer's then took the Deputy Mayor to the library, where he told the Scoobies about the ascension, and that the Mayor was invincible at that moment. Nothing could stop him from ascending.

"He said that he'll be invincible for a hundred days, which would be when the ascension is meant to take place," claimed the deputy Mayor.

Although they hated to do so, the Scoobies shifted their resources from finding a way to bring Willow home, to finding out more about the present threat; that of the ascension. The Deputy Mayor, Alan Finch, gave inside information to the Scoobies, while he was acting as their double agent against the Mayor. While they received information from Deputy Mayor Finch, the Scoobies biggest break came in the form of a demon named Skyler. He approached Buffy and Faith during a patrol, offering them what he referred to as the Books of Ascension, a five volume piece of work that detailed the ascension process.

And he was willing to sell it to them for five thousand dollars.

"Seriously?" asked Buffy while Faith arched an eyebrow, "five thousand?"

"Or I could go to the Mayor and sell it to him," said Skyler, who was about to say something when Faith interrupted him.

"Or we… you know, we're Slayers, we could just kill you and take the books… I mean you are a demon," smirked Faith as the demon stepped back in fear before looking at Buffy.

"Three thousand," said the demon, his voice trembling, "the books and my life for three thousand dollars. That's not too much to ask. If the Mayor gets these books? Then it's the end, and I'd like to make enough money to get out of Sunnydale."

Buffy and Faith looked at each other, and the both of them sighed at the same time. Buffy was holding onto Faiths arm when the dark haired Slayer whispered that she was going to beat on the demon a little so that he'd drive the price down even more. Buffy disagreed, saying that the demon seemed harmless and genuinely scared about the ascension; the blonde Slayer told the demon to follow them, that he needed to talk to Giles and Wesley.

It was the next day that the Books of Ascension were on a flight to the Watchers Council in London; Wesley, whose bank account was down by three thousand dollars after paying for the books, was going to personally deliver the books to the Council's archives so that Wilkins, or any other demon for that matter, could not get a hold of them. With the books out of play, Giles and the others felt as if they could finally beat the Mayor at his plans for ascension. However, Finch gave them some information a few weeks later on a box arriving at a private airfield in the outskirts of Sunnydale. He told them, in their pre-established way of contacting each other, that the Mayor, a day before the graduation, was expecting the Box of Gavrok. He had been told by one of the demons that he owed his immortality to, that the Box was an important part of the process. It was the final ingredient in his quest to ascend.

Thanks to the information from Finch, Buffy and Faith were at the airfield to intercept the Box.

Buffy killed the courier who brought the Box out of the plane, and was about to hand in to Mr. Trick. And Faith, who was hidden in darkness while on top of a building, shot an arrow through Mr. Trick's chest, dusting him. The both of them then took the Box back to the library where Althanea had readied magical flame, a spell given to her by the Devon Coven, that was set to destroy the box. At the same time that the Box was burning, three of the Council's Special Operations teams, called in by Wesley who informed the Council of the danger that the Mayor represented, killed the vampires that surrounded him. They then sedated the Mayor while Finch was 'on leave', before stealing his unconscious body away in the dead of night.

It was Finch who attended the Graduation ceremony the next day on Wilkins' behalf. By the time the moment of ascension came, and went, Finch had just finished giving the speech that he found on the Mayor's desk. He then shook hands with the student body, in particular whispering thanks to Buffy, Cordelia, and Xander, for what they had done in saving Sunnydale. He glanced out at the crowd at Joyce, Althanea, Faith, and Giles as they cheered when the three Scoobies walked the stage.

The man would take over as Mayor a few days later, after a news report was released that, while on a trip to the airport, Mayor Richard Wilkins' car was found by the side of the road. The car was burning.

When the fire was put out, a lone body was found in the backseat. The body was burned beyond visual recognition, and had a gunshot wound in the middle of the forehead. Tests would later show that the body was of the former Mayor Wilkins. In reality, the body was that of a clone that the Council's Los Angeles arm had created, a perfect facsimile cloned from Wilkins' DNA, which was taken just before his unconscious body was taken by private jet to London. It was deep underneath the Council's Manchester branch, that the finally conscious, and vulnerable Wilkins awoke.

He screamed at the hooded people in front of him, while his hands were chained to the floor, that he could not die. He was immortal thanks to the deals he made with demons. The hooded people in front of him said they knew what he was, and that he would not die. But he could be incapacitated since the hundred days had passed, and he failed to ascend. Wilkins screamed as a broadsword sliced through his neck, separating his head from his body. He was still aware of what was going on, but unable to move as his head rolled on the floor. He watched the hooded people bury his body in the ground, and then they performed spells on his head. He screamed profanities at them, until they tied his mouth shut.

Eventually, the head was mystically transported to the bottom of the Mariana Trench; the deepest part of the Earth's oceans. His head would lie there, alone, for all time.

In the meantime, the police investigation went on to finding out who murdered the Mayor; an investigation that would eventually go cold in a few months. By that time, Willow's case was already considered a cold case since there were no more leads for the detectives to go through, much to the sorrow of the Rosenberg's. However, Buffy and the others still gave the redhead's parents their support that Willow will be found, that other departments would still keep on looking for her.

The Scoobies, with the threat of Wilkins gone, knew that now they needed to pull together and bring Willow back. However, not all of them was able to stay in Sunnydale. Cordelia, who had earlier broken up with Xander after the Prom, had left Sunnydale for Los Angeles. She told Xander that her family lost everything thanks to her father not paying his taxes. She said that she had no choice but to move away with her mother, that they were going to stay with family in Los Angeles. Cordelia said that her uncle owned a talent agency, and she hoped that he'd help her to get a job.

It was something that Xander hated; to see someone he cared about leaving.

She left a few weeks later, making the Scoobies promise to call her once they brought back Willow.

 **Los Angeles, 2300 hours; year and a half after Willow was sent to Hell.**

It would be nearly a year later that Angel had a big breakthrough of his own. It had taken some time, but eventually he, Doyle, and Lily built up Angel Investigations, a private detective agency that would, as Lily described themselves, helping the helpless. Angel never forgot about his promise of finding a way to bring Willow back to Earth; he and Doyle, and later a very stunned Lily who was finally read into what Angel had done, helped in searching to find way to bring Willow back.

At the same time, they investigated Doyle's visions.

As far as the work on finding Willow went, Angel's luck was the same as Giles' luck back in Sunnydale. They had no leads that would bring back Willow safely.

However, there was one night that Doyle had received a vision of a demon murdering an old man. Doyle told Angel that the old man was located underneath a building, it was an underground book store. He saw the demon killing the man, and then stealing a scroll.

"Death and destruction, Angel," said Doyle as Angel frowned while Lily went to get a book from their limited collection, "I saw a portal open, the sky turning dark, storms everywhere... never-ending rain… floods, destruction, demons coming through the portal. Name it, it's all in the vision."

"You know where it is?" asked Angel as Doyle nodded his head, "move out."

Angel and his team; Doyle carrying an axe, Lily a crossbow, and Angel himself carrying a sword, smashed through the door of the shop just as the demon was about to kill the old man. The demon turned to face Angel and his team after throwing the old man to one side. He tumbled over his counter, before falling the ground behind it and groaning. The demon attacked Angel, sensing him as the greater threat, while Lily, who Angel had been training with Doyle, moved to one side and tried to get a good shot on the demon. She was very conscious that she was firing a wooden arrow, and she didn't want to hit Angel.

Just as she had a good shot, Lily felt something hitting her leg.

Looking down after shooting the demon's back, before it swung at Angel who then ducked and stabbed the demon on its side, and after Doyle buried the axe in its back, Lily crouched down and picked up the scroll. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Angel behead the demon while she opened a scroll, and then looked up and around her surroundings. She wondered how the scroll landed at her feet. She walked over to the counter while Doyle was panting and looking at Angel, and then at her while Lily herself looked behind the counter at the shivering old man.

"You're safe now," said Lily gently as she handed the scroll to Doyle. Lily then extended her hand and smiled as the old man grabbed a hold, and the young woman slowly pulled him up.

"Thank you," replied the grateful old man whose eyes opened wide when he saw the dead demon on the floor, while Angel walked over its body and headed for the counter. And then the old man saw the surprised Doyle reading the Scroll in his hand, "how did… how did you get that scroll?"

"Angel," said Doyle while he was looking at the scroll, ignoring the question from the old man,, "this… oh dear, this is what we've been looking for… the way to bring Willow home. Angel, this… this is ancient… I… know the language but it hasn't been used for ages… oh my."

"You… you…" stammered the old man, still in surprise at how Doyle got a hold of the scroll. But he was interrupted from asking his question by Angel.

"How much for the scroll?" Angel excitedly asked as he looked at the old man while he reached into his pocket. He didn't want to know how the old man came upon the scroll; or why, before entering the store, Doyle said that the store was surrounded by magic. All he cared about now was that they had a possible way to bring Willow back, at least according to Doyle. And Angel wasn't going to ask any questions… he made a promise that he'll help bring her back, and that's what he was going to do. Angel took out his wallet and placed three hundred dollars on the counter, telling the old man that was all he had on him, "please… I… I made a mistake and a dear friend of mine paid for that mistake. I don't know what's in the scroll and…"

"It's a spell to bring back someone who's been lost," said the old man, "a very powerful spell that would reach all the way into any and all heavenly or hellish dimension, and bring someone back. But it could only be used once, self-destructing after it's been used. It's dangerous, I mean… unlike other spells, this won't cause a backlash… but the person coming back may not be the same as when they went in."

"I don't care," replied Angel, "she has friends who can bring her back to who she was.. and that's if she comes back different. Please, will three hundred dollars be enough?"

"Take the scroll," said the old man softly as he returned the money to Angel, "as thanks for saving my life, and my book store. I know you want to ask questions; all I can say is that I'm a collector. I've used magic to hide my… collection of rare books and magic scrolls, among other things. I don't know how that demon found me… but perhaps I could pay you to find out how he discovered my store?"

"Agreed," said Angel nodding his head.

"Good luck," said the old man as an excited Angel ran out of the door, followed soon by Doyle and Lily.

Angel sent the scroll to Giles the next morning. Or to be more accurate, Doyle mailed the scroll, along with his translated instructions, to the Watcher. Angel wanted to go to Sunnydale and help, but he knew that he was 'persona non-grata'; that not even Buffy had spoken to him over the months since Willow's death.

He knew he deserved it. All he asked from Giles in a letter, that was sent together with the scrolls, was that he be called once Willow was back on Earth.

Angel wanted to make sure that Willow was stable, and offered to do whatever he could to help make amends. Even though it was very unlikely he would ever be asked.

TBC.


	19. Chapter 19

**Giles' Apartment, 1400 hours.**

Buffy and Faith, both of whom were now attending U.C. Sunnydale, were sitting next to Xander and the young man's new girlfriend, Anya. Althanea, Jenny, and Joyce; all of whom were called on by Giles were seated all around the living room. The notable absentee was Wesley, who was recalled to London temporarily. Giles and the others were thankful that Wesley did not tell the Council about the research they were carrying out to get Willow back. At the same time though, he searched for information on opening doorways for 'research' purposes while working around the Council.

Without Wesley, Buffy and the others were seated in Giles' living room watching the man pacing the carpet while an open package lay on the coffee table in front of them. Giles then sighed, and steadied himself for the reactions of Xander, Buffy, and Jenny; especially when he revealed the secret he had been hiding from them for more than a year.

"I've been in contact with Angel," said Giles as Buffy and Xander opened their eyes wide in shock, while Jenny leaned back on the couch, and frowned at her boyfriend. Giles sighed and put his hands on his waist while Buffy and Xander, understandably outraged, demanded to know what he was thinking. The demanded to know why and how he could have gone behind their backs to ask the help of someone responsible for Willow's death.

Giles waited for Buffy and Xander, whose faces were already red in anger, to quieten down. In the meantime, he glanced at the people around him… and he saw the look of disappointment on Jenny's face. Giles knew he had a lot to make up for with her; Althanea was looking at the package on the table, and then back up at him… the expression on her face silently questioning him on why he contacted Angel. He then looked at Joyce who was just frowning, but remained silent. He then looked at Anya and Faith who were whispering to each other, and then the dark haired Slayer looked at him and asked a question.

"I get Angel's supposed to have a soul now, and all," she said, "but G-man, he's still a vamp... you sure we can trust him with whatever he's told you about Willow?"

"Willow?" asked Buffy, who suddenly stopped asking questions about reaching out to Angel, as she looked between Faith and Giles, "Giles?"

"Thank you, Faith," Giles replied sarcastically, "I was going to mention it after Buffy and Xander were done.. but yes."

"But…" said Xander shaking his head, "Giles, he's…"

"I know how we all feel about him," whispered Giles as she took off his glasses, "but we've tried to find a way to get Willow back for over a year and a half. All of our research has come to naught despite everything we've done. Look, it was after Angel left that he sent me a letter. He said that he was going to search through his contacts in Los Angeles for a way to open a doorway, allowing Willow to come back to Earth. Even his quest had little to no leads for over a year and more."

"I'm sorry, G-man," said Faith grimacing, "I mean Willow was my guess… that's the only reason you'd ask us all to come on such short notice."

"It's fine, Faith," said Giles gently before looking at the others, "Angel's running a Private Investigative agency and…"

Xander was about to make a quip about Angel, but he decided against it. He told himself to calm down, and wait for Giles to finish what he was going to say. So he motioned for Giles to continue.

"One of his associates has a direct link to the Powers that Be," said Giles as Althanea nodded her head impressed. Giles could see that she had some questions, but the librarian signaled her that she needed to ask questions later. Althanea then nodded her head, allowing Giles to continue, "this associate received a vision. What was in the vision does not matter, but upon saving the subject of the vision.. Angel and his team came upon a very old scroll."

Giles reached dawn and picked up the box, he then reached inside and took out the scroll and the letter. He handed the Scroll to Althanea who asked Anya, who was a vengeance demon and an expert in languages, to study the scroll and the translation with her. They then headed to the dining table, while Giles turned to Jenny who was leaning forward.

"Giles," she said gently, "I just want to ask you this question, and I will believe whatever answer you give me. Do you trust Angel with this information?"

"Yes," replied Giles as he sat down. The man suddenly looked tired, as if everything that he had been working towards was finally about to bear fruit – Willow's rescue from hell, "the both of us played our parts certainly in Willow's demise. Angelus used her to open the doorway after raping her and destroying who she was, and then I drove the sword through her. I know it was to save the world, but I'm the one who killed her."

Buffy was about to intervene when she saw Giles cover his mouth with his hand, and saw the hurt and defeat in his eyes. She and Giles looked at each other, and she saw the pain that existed in his eyes, and she didn't know what to say. She then turned to look at Faith, who looked back at her, and then at Giles. The dark haired Slayer, and then Jenny, walked towards Giles and told him that he did what he had to do. Buffy then spoke up and said that it was her fault too, she left Angelus live.

"Yea, B, you're responsible too," said Faith before she looked down at Giles while standing next to him, "Giles, Willow knew what she was doing. And she knew what was going to happen. You did what you had to do."

"I promised her that we'd find a way back for her and.."

"By the goddess," cried Althanea as she looked up from the scroll at Anya who was nodding her head. Giles wiped his eyes and then stood up and put on his glasses while the others just turned around on the couch and walked towards the witch and demon, "this is a rare find."

"Very rare," replied Anya as she looked back at Giles and the others who were heading towards them, "this…. Even I haven't seen something like this before. I've heard rumours about it, but never seen it."

"What is it?" asked Jenny.

"Think of it as like a life raft," explained Althanea while Giles nodded his head, "the spell uses our feelings for the one we are searching for, and then collects it as energy. And important items that have meaning for the person who needs to be returned is used as a focal point for that energy before it ripples out. The energy travels to every single Heavenly and Hell dimension until that person is found, and then returned."

"The letter was vague," said Giles, "but that's the basic gist I had as well. The ritual is meant to use our feelings for the person as an energy source, and as a way of searching for who the ritual is meant to bring back."

"Those with strong connections to Willow would have to be a part of the ritual," explained Althanea, "myself, Rupert, Buffy, Xander, Joyce, Jenny, and Willow's parents."

"Let's say that Angel's wrong about this," said Xander waving his arms about, "do we really want to give Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg that kind of hope, and then have it torn away from them in case I'm right, and this is just a wild goose chase?"

"I agree," said Buffy her arms crossed over her chest, "we don't involve Willow's parents in this. Althanea, Anya, how do we know if the spell worked?"

"We won't know until Willow appears before us," said Althanea.

"But then again," said Anya as she read through the translation, and then looked back at Buffy, and then at Xander, "it doesn't say that she'll appear in front of us. Maybe she'll appear somewhere else, but what we do know? Once the ritual's finished… that's it. This scroll will be useless."

"Do we need anything special for the ritual?" asked Jenny.

"I need to go to the Magic Box," said Althanea, "Jenny, Anya, Xander.. I need you three to come with me."

"Sure," said Xander nodding his head. He was hoping that he was wrong this one time about Angel, and that this ritual would really bring back Willow, but he was still wary due to the many dead-ends the Scoobies had already encountered. That was in addition to the scroll coming from the same man who tortured and raped Willow.

It was a few hours later, that Joyce, Buffy, Faith, and Xander helped to rearrange Giles' living room so that they could draw the symbols for the ritual on the floor, and then take their places on one of the symbols. However, it was agreed that the people with the strongest connections with Willow was Giles, Buffy, Xander, and Althanea since she was Willow's mentor for her magical training. The four of them sat on the circle, which had four candles which indicated the seating areas for the participants who were facing each other, with a picture of Willow, Xander, and Giles being placed in the middle of a bowl of ingredients. On top of the picture, Giles lay down the Galaxy Ranger badge since it was something that Willow loved being.. Giles remembered Willow being excited about Niko's memories, knowledge, and powers; and using all of that to fight alongside Buffy as Nighthawk. Giles remembered her wanting to help people, and to save those in danger; all represented by the badge.

It was a connection to her. A connection to who she was.

Faith, Anya, Joyce, and Jenny stood to one side while the newly neutered Spike was chained in the bathtub. The Slayer wanted to kill the vampire, but given that he was unable to attack humans thanks to a para-military organization installing a chip in his head, Buffy believed it would be better to have him around to get as much information as possible about what this military group wanted. And then kill Spike. Faith looked over her shoulder at the restroom hallway, and then back to Buffy and the others who were already seated.

"Ready?" asked Althanea as Buffy and the others nodded their heads. Althanea already told them what was going to happen, and they still opted to continue, "hold hands, and whatever you do? Do not release them."

"Got it," said Xander.

Faith, Anya, Jenny, and Joyce looked on as Althanea started to chant. She felt the ground trembling while Spike was demanding to know what was going on. Faith, however, tuned him out while she and the women on the side-lines watched the various symbols around the circular symbol, that Buffy and the others were sitting around, give off an ethereal white glow.

The symbols were placed behind the four people; four symbols for four connections.

Faith looked on as a ray of bright white light erupted from each of the symbols behind Buffy, Giles, Althanea, and Xander; the four of them arching their backs as they gave off a gasp while Althanea continued to chant. The bowl with the picture and the badge then rose up into the air, while it spun faster and faster until it stated to hiss. Faith and the others watched the beams of light shoot through Buffy and the others, the four of them gasping again, as the light hit the spinning bowl. They looked on as the bowl started to crumble, along with the ingredients, as well as the scroll which was next to Althanea.

"No stopping now," whispered Anya as the scroll started to disintegrate. Then there was a burst of white light in the middle of the circle of Buffy, Giles, Xander, and Althanea. The light was so bright that Faith and the others had to close their eyes, opening them only when the light dimmed to reveal a fluctuating ball of white light. The bowl, the picture, the badge, and the scroll was gone as Althanea looked up at the ball.. as did Giles, Buffy, and Xander.

Their eyes were all white in colour as they commanded the light to find, and return, the one who was lost; to find the person with whom they had the strong connection.

"Find Willow," whispered Giles, as did Buffy, Xander, and Althanea.

Faith and the others closed their eyes when there was another burst of white light from the ball as it seemed to explode. The shockwave pushed everyone down to the floor, while Spike was shouting from the bathtub, demanding to know what the hell it was that they just did.

It had taken five minutes, and the grating sound of Spike screaming in the bathtub, for Giles to slowly open his eyes. He slowly got up while rubbing the sides of his head, and groaning at the same time. He looked around as Buffy, Xander, and Althanea… who had been lying on the floor, and just now regaining consciousness slowly started to get up. He noticed that all the symbols they had drawn earlier was gone, they vanished without a trace. He slowly got to his knees while he looked at the picture of Buffy, Willow, and Xander on the floor, with the Galaxy Ranger badge on top of them.

"Please tell me that worked," groaned Xander while Giles got up and then helped the young man up, while Buffy helped Althanea. Giles looked around silently as Faith, groaning as she got up off the floor, told them that it better have worked. Faith then got up while Giles helped up Jenny; and Buffy, after making sure that Althanea was all right, went and helped up Joyce to her feet.

"You okay, mom?" asked Buffy as Joyce nodded her head.

"Giles?" asked Faith, "well?"

"Buffy and Faith," said Giles, "I need you both on patrol tonight. Willow could be anywhere in Sunnydale, we need to find her."

"She's not here," whispered Althanea as she fell to her knees, "she's not here. She's not in Sunnydale."

"How can you be sure?" asked Giles looking at the witch.

"The throbbing in my chest since she was taken," she whispered as she rubbed her chest, "it's still there, Rupert. She's not here… she's not with us."

"There goes Angel, I feel better now that he proved he can't be trusted," Xander said with a scowl on his face.

"We're still going to search Sunnydale," commanded Giles, "she has to be here… we couldn't have done all of that for nothing… she… she has to be here."

"We'll patrol, Giles," said Faith as Buffy nodded, "we'll find her."

 **Acathla's Hell, a little more than a thousand years after Willow being pulled to Hell.**

It.

That was how she was called as she lay on the floor of the dark and dank dungeon.

She couldn't remember who she once was. She remembered her screams, the pain, and the torture, but not herself. The pain was so intense that she couldn't remember. Her mind was broken. Her memories were fragmented; she wasn't able to piece them together no matter how hard she tried. Her entire body hurt as she closed her eyes which opened again when she heard screams from a few doors below her cell. She knew that the one with the knives was coming to carve her up again. She quickly got up and cowered fearfully against the wall as the sound of thuds came closer and closer after a door in the distance had closed.

And then she whimpered in fear while using her fingernails to scratch against the blood covered wall in fear.

It was her blood covering the walls.

She was lying in everything that made her, all her deaths, all the evidence of what she had undergone was all around her. She wanted to say something, but she forgot speech; she forgot that she could ever speak. Her white hair was matted to her sweat covered forehead, and her body covered by the blood, dirt, and filth that was all around her. She was cowering against the wall, while looking at the door. A part of her wanted to be brave, but fear overtook everything as her body shivered in fear. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the blood stained wall and hoped that this was the day that she would die, and not be resurrected again howling in pain.

As she continued to look fearfully at the door, she felt a warmth inside her. But that warmth wasn't able to cut the cold from the darkness around her.

She was called 'it', any mention of her true name either gone or locked away in the back of her mind… trying to break out. She had fragmented memories of running towards a blue portal, then beatings, and then being debased until she was just a thing in the eyes of the demons around her. In another memory, she remembered cutting bodies, and then in another memory she remembered the brand on her chest and her shoulder blade. The short white-haired young woman had flashes of a blonde girl, a man with a demonic face and fangs, a kiss with another short orange-haired young man who turned into a wolf.

And then those memories faded away, gone out of her reach.

She covered her body with her arms as her whines increased in intensity while tears fell down her face. She knew what was going to happen. The most recent memory she had, was of demons eating her alive. She remembered being chained up mid-air over a cadre of fourteen demons, the chains were attached to hooks that went through her flesh, and then she was lowered down to the growls and the sounds made by the grinding and gnashing of sharp teeth. She could still smell blood as the demons tore into her flesh, ripping it off her bones while she screamed in pain. She continued screaming as the demons exposed bones all over her body. They had no set part of her body where they would begin, they were like animals being fed for the first time.

Her screams stopped when her skull was crushed.

And then she was brought to life again in her cell, howling in pain even though her body was intact.

Sometimes she would be thrown into a pit where numbers of demons with knives for hands would carve her up and share her among themselves. At the end, no matter what happened to her, she would return to her cell intact.

But she had no idea how long her torture continued.

She brought her hands to the sides of her head, and then her body tensed as the door opened. She got on all fours, just as she had been forced to while she had been in her cell for years.

"It," said the muscular green skinned demon as it rushed towards her. However, she rolled to the side before she made a mad dash, eventually slipping on her blood and organs. She then slithered and the crawled while her body made squishing sounds before she struggled to get up to her feet. She could sense that he demon was taking its time as she stumbled forward, and slipped again. She fell on her blood before repeating her actions as she went for the door. The demon made its move once she was close to the door, it was much faster and it grabbed her by the back of her neck, growled, and then pushed her towards the wall. She hit the wall hard with a squishing sound, and then she was turned around to see the masked demon, it's face covered in shadow.

She felt wetness squishing behind her; her blood. She was being pushed into her own blood.

She could feel the tattoo, no, it was more like a brand. She could feel the brand on her left shoulder blade being pushed into the wall. She looked in fear at the masked demon as it started to laugh, while pulling an arm to the rear of the belt he was wearing. He then took out a jagged edged blade and prepared to stab her.

It was then that she growled. She gnashed her teeth at the demon holding her and growled. This had been going on for so long that she was tired. She wanted to die, she wanted there to be no more pain. She stretched out her fingers by her side, and then curved her fingertips inwards and growled.

She wanted to die. She wanted everything to end.

But she wasn't going to die whining. She wanted to reach into the mask and rip the demon's eyes out.

However, before anyone could do anything, she found herself engulfed by a bright flash of white light. She closed her eyes, covering them with her arm since the light was so bright, and opened them when she felt a cool breeze brushing on her naked body. She found herself standing in darkness, surrounded by buildings, and black pillars that had tops which glowed a bright yellow. She then arched her back and opened her mouth. It felt as if something was reaching into her throat, and then pulling out… something. She couldn't tell what was happening, just that it was unnerving. She saw a wisp of smoky white light floating away from her mouth, and then travelling towards a clock tower in the distance. She watched the light in fascination before she looked straight up and saw pin pricks of light in the cloudless night sky.

She closed her eyes and smelled the breeze, she smelled the fresh air; there were no smells of rot and dead bodies, there was no smell of death.

Just fresh air.

However, she opened her eyes when she caught a whiff of a scent she hadn't experienced before just as she fell forward onto the paved ground as a body crashed into her from behind.

 **U.C. Sunnydale, 2300 hours; the day after performing the ritual.**

Tara was running.

Running as fast as she could from the two floating bald creatures in black suits that were following her with creepy, wide, grins. She was running from the four creatures that seemed to be wrapped in straightjackets coming after her, they had been following the floating creatures, and set their targets on her. All she had wanted to do was going back to her dorm after class, and try to find a spell that would reverse this situation that the entire city found themselves in.

No one had a voice. Literally.

The entire city was silent with people unable to speak. Tara remembered reading that morning, while she ran and looked behind her, terrified at the creatures coming towards her, that four people had died after the city became silent.

Their hearts were cut out. And Tara was afraid that she was going to be next.

She screamed out loud for help, but no-one could hear her since she had no voice.

She continued running while looking behind her when she suddenly crashed into a woman standing in the middle of the pathway. Tara fell on top of the woman who roughly pushed her off before crouching down on all fours while baring her teeth at the blonde.

'Goddess,' thought Tara as she covered her nose at the smell of death that was coming from the naked, white haired young woman in front of her.

'Not just white,' thought Tara to herself, 'is… is that blood? And, dear Goddess… there's.. stop Tara, just see the blood, and the white hair. No need to see the other stuff which I hope is just dirt. Where did she come from? Who are you?.'

Tara had her eyes wide open in horror as she saw the young woman in front of her. Tara saw that she was slim, and she had cuts and marks on various parts of her body. And then there was the blood, the young woman was covered in blood. Then she noticed the circular symbol in the middle of her chest, just above her breasts. Tara looked into the feral eyes of the woman before her, and what she saw was rage, mixed with pain and sorrow, and madness.

Before Tara could do anything, the straightjacketed creatures reached her and started to pound on her. Tara covered her head with her hands and screamed, feeling the punches that reigned down on her, while she looked at the woman who did the same; protecting herself from the beating by the straightjacketed creatures. Tara saw the young woman being beaten hard when she suddenly opened her mouth as if giving off a loud scream that no-one could hear.

While Tara watched the woman viciously fighting back against the creatures like an animal cornered; back in Giles' apartment, Althanea rubbed her chest as she quickly leaned forward on the couch while everyone looked at her concerned. She knew that the last time she felt something like this was when Willow was killed, there was a constant throbbing in her chest which had just spiked, and was now gone.

Althanea opened her eyes wide before she quickly got up, ran past the chained up Spike, and headed to Giles' side table. She opened the drawer fully and let it crash down to the floor, the sound reverberating through the whole apartment. Joyce, Jenny, Xander, and Anya watched the witch frantically searching for something. It was then that Giles' eyes widened as soon as he realised what Althanea was looking for. He slid down onto his knees next to her and searched for the special object.

Xander looked confused at Jenny, and then at Joyce, before looking at Giles and Althanea again when they finally found what they were looking for. He saw them looking at each other, tears in their eyes, before leaning down to pick up something. Giles then turned to Xander and the others, and showed them the Galaxy Ranger badge in his hand. He pointed at it while mouthing silently, "it did work, she's home."

Back on campus, Tara stood up slowly, her legs trembling as she watched the white haired young woman who, soundlessly screaming, jumped onto one of the creatures and then twisted its neck. Tara heard the sickening crack as she scampered backwards towards the wall of a building. She watched the young woman get hit by the creatures, but she didn't fall, instead she stumbled back and then jumped on top of one of them, pushing him to the ground. Tara watched in horror as she pressed her thumbs in its eyes. The creature was waving its arms around before the white haired young woman was pulled off and then thrown to the ground. Tara saw her crouch down on all fours, and then leap towards another straightjacketed creature before digging her hands into its neck while panting. Tara covered her mouth in horror while watching the redhead rip its throat out, green blood spurting everywhere as the floating creatures moved back.

Tara saw the young woman get knocked down by the last creature, and then she saw her aura flash in pure rage. Tara shook her head while she watched the young woman duck the attacks from the last straightjacketed creature, and then she grabbed it and jumped onto it's back. She punched the sides of its head before twisting its neck, but Tara saw the young woman's rage hadn't subsided. She saw the redhead mercilessly beat the dead creature before she panted and dug her fingers through the wraps and ripped its throat out.

Tara was trying to control her breathing as the young woman's aura normalized, the white haired girl was panting, while she had green coloured blood on her hands, mixed in with the red that was already all over her body. Tara saw the young woman's fists were dripping with the liquid as the floating creatures retreated from her. Tara then saw the woman, who just viciously had beaten the four straightjacketed creatures to death, crouching back down on all fours before turning around to face her.

Tara put her hand up in surrender; she didn't want to be a threat to this woman who slowly moved backwards on all fours. Tara, too, slowly crouched down, all the while looking into the eyes of the woman who was watching her every move. She picked up her books slowly as the young woman continued to look at her while tilting her head.

"Hi," mouthed Tara, with a mixture of basic sign language, while the young woman bared her teeth at her, "I.. I'm not going to… to harm you. My name's Tara… Tara…, what… what's your name?"

Tara then saw the young woman's face show a bit of sadness before she looked behind over her shoulder, turned around and then moved away on all fours. Tara saw her move a few more meters before she rose up and started to run on both of her feet.

Tara looked on as she disappeared into the shadows. Tara then shook her head while thinking about the face that was looking at her earlier. The blonde young woman had seen the sadness in the young woman's eyes, but there was something else. Something else beyond the anger and madness, it was as if she had endured a lifetime of pain and suffering.

 **The Rosenberg Residence, ten minutes later.**

The naked young woman had flashes of a building, and two people who were calling for her at the front door. She was running through the night breeze, alone in the open. It beat being kept in her cell.

She ran faster as a smile developed on her face. She enjoyed the freedom, but she couldn't remember if she ever had freedom to begin with. There were faces in her mind flashing, but she couldn't make anything of who they were, or what they were to her.

However, the image of an older redhead standing next to a brown haired man, was familiar to her. It warmed her heart, but she couldn't tell why. All she knew was that the pain that she felt in her body dulled, just for an instant.

She continued running. Running as fast as she could while feeling the rush of the breeze against her naked skin.

And the next thing she knew, she was looking at the house that had momentarily flashed in her memories. She stood across from the home, and looked at the darkness in the building, and she shivered. But there was something that compelled her to crouch down and approach the home slowly, but she didn't know why.

All she knew was that this place was important, despite the darkness inside which made it threatening to her.

Something told her this place was important.

Sheila Rosenberg was lying in bed when she suddenly snapped her eyes open, and sat up. She grabbed her chest and breathed hard as the throbbing spiked for a short moment, and then vanished completely. She looked to her left at Ira, who was fast asleep, and then back at her sheets. Feeling thirsty, the older redhead pulled the sheets off of her before getting out of bed, and into a pair of slippers. She then put on a robe over her negligee, and crept out of the room into the hallway.

She looked at Willow's room door, and slowly walked towards it. She was about to open the door, but decided against it. It had been over a year since they had opened this door, preferring to remain as it was when Willow was taken away from them. She wiped the tears that came to her eyes, like they always did when she approached the room, and then she turned around and headed for the stairs. Turning on the lights, she walked down slowly until she reached the foyer. It was then when she saw two wisps of white smoke enter the house. One of the tiny clouds flowed straight into her mouth, while the other went up the stairs, and made a left turn.

Sheila then opened her mouth to speak, "What the…" She smiled excitedly when she found that she could speak again. She was about to run up the stairs and wake Ira to tell him that their voices mysteriously had returned, when she suddenly heard a scratching sound at the front door. Sheila headed towards the door after turning on the foyer light, and looked out through the peephole.

Not seeing anyone there, Sheila shook her head before she turned around. She was about to turn off the lights again and head to the kitchen when she heard the scratching sound again… followed by a whine. Sheila narrowed her eyes and looked at the door again, her heart was racing as she heard the same whine one more time. Approaching the door cautiously, Sheila then put her hand on the door knob, and then opened the door to find the face of her daughter, both knees on the wooden porch, looking back at her.

Sheila's eyes opened wide in shock, speechlessness taking over as she looked at the bloody face looking back at her, she looked at the white hair which had blood, and what seemed to her as dirt matting it down. She gasped at the young woman's naked, blood covered body, and then she looked into her eyes.

Sheila knew those eyes. It was her daughter's eyes.

"Willow," whispered Sheila, her eyes wet, and her body trembling, "oh God."

"Ira!" screamed Sheila as her senses took over while she took off her robe and covered Willow with it. However, Willow was whimpering from the sound of Sheila's voice while covering her ears just before the young woman stumbled onto her side, and pushed herself back away from the open door. Sheila called for Ira again, and it was that which caused Willow to have a memory flash of herself being beaten by demons who had captured her when she tried to run into a blue light. Willow somehow knew instinctively she wasn't in danger, but her senses were going haywire, and she didn't know what to think; she couldn't think. She feared the woman, but at the same time, she didn't. Willow wanted to growl, make the woman go away. But she couldn't do that either.

"Ira! Ira!"

Sheila quickly approached the whimpering Willow who was laying on her side, and covered her up again with the robe, and cradled her body in her arms while Willow's body was shaking, her hands scratching the floor of the porch, and her legs moving as if she wanted to get away. This close to Willow, Sheila was hit with the smell of rotting flesh but the crying older woman hid her disgust at the smell of death that was coming from Willow's body.

"Sheila.. what?! Oh dear God," gasped Ira upon reaching the front door, and seeing Willow who was huddled in her mother's arms.

"Call the police, call them now, Ira!" cried Sheila as she looked at her husband who ran to the living room. The light that just came on made Willow hide her eyes by holding her arms against them, all the while she continued to whimper. In the meantime, all Sheila could do was try to comfort her daughter, "you're home, Willow. You're home. Listen to my voice, Willow. Listen to my voice."

On the street across from the Rosenberg home, a figure wearing a silver and cream dress stood unseen. She pulled back a hood to reveal a young woman with long brown hair, her eyes revealing her age; older than Willow, older than Angel, Kakistos, the Master. She was older than Ancient Egypt itself as she looked at Ira running back to the front door with a phone to his ear. The brown haired woman smiled sadly at the thought that Willow remained in Hell due to her inaction, but she had seen a future where the world was destroyed if she sacrificed herself.

A world destroyed by a madwoman.

So the brown haired woman watched silently, and without interfering, as the Powers sent Doyle, and in turn, Angel, one vision after another. It was when they sent the vampire the vision of the underground book dealer did the woman, using the magic that surrounded the shop, ensure that the ancient scroll, the one she knew would be useful for returning Willow to Earth, would fall at Lilly's feet. The brown haired woman saw the young woman pick up the scroll after the demon was defeated, before handing it to Doyle once she opened it. The brown haired woman remembered the look on Angel's face when the dealer told him what it was, and that he could take it with him as thanks for saving his life.

And the rest was history.

The brown haired woman watched the house as Ira kneeled on the ground, the sounds of sirens heard in the distance.

"You're home, Willow," whispered the woman, "your friends will help repair your mind, and restore your humanity. You will be needed, for I am coming… I have seen it. Divergent futures where the world ends, or a Slayer dies, or one where everyone makes it out alive. I will not remember me… I know that much. But I know you will protect me, Willow; I have seen it. I will see you at dawn, Willow. A year from now, I will see you again. Until then, farewell… my Champion."

TBC.


	20. Chapter 20

**U.C. Sunnydale Clock tower, at that same time.**

"You know how hard it's gonna be getting this stain off my shirt?" asked an outrage Faith as she pulled the bottom of her shirt towards Buffy, who in turn smirked back at the dark haired Slayer before looking at the dead Gentlemen and their minions. After getting their voices back, the two young women then opened their mouths and screamed; the result being that the heads of the floating creatures literally blew up. It was their only weakness, and the reason why they had stolen the voices of people in Sunnydale.

Buffy nodded at Faith, before turning towards the other young man in the room. Riley was someone Buffy expressed an interest in pursuing a relationship, in fact, the both of them kissed not a little over an hour ago.

It was something that made Faith stick her finger in her mouth, and pretend to gag since the both of them were patrolling together. It was Giles' idea to not have the two Slayers be separated at a time like this.

But that was then, and this was now. Buffy and Faith had encountered people dressed in uniforms, complete with military tactical gear, for the first time during Halloween a few months ago. Then a few more times after that, when they were not out Slaying. It was later on that Spike, who Buffy caught while on patrol, claimed people from the Army had installed a chip in his brain that prevented him from biting other humans. He told the blonde Slayer that he tried to bite a young woman, but instead of feeding… all he got was a sharp sting in his head.

"They're running experiments," whined a very pale Spike who wrapped his arms around his body. To Buffy, it seemed as if the vampire was shivering… as if he was going through withdrawal symptoms, "I need food."

"No." That was the only thing Buffy said before knocking him out, and then dragging him back Giles' house. There, he was chained to the bathtub…. Much to the unhappiness of Giles, who still had many questions for him. HE suspected that Wesley would have even more questions when he returned from London.

In the meantime, Buffy and the others had many questions about why the military would be interested in Spike; more specifically, vampires in general. And if they were interested in vampires for some reason, were they also interested in other demons.

And now they knew there was a chance to get some questions answered as they looked at Riley, who was holding a weapon that released a surge of electricity earlier. They saw him just standing there looking at the two of them transfixed.

"How… how?" asked Riley as he looked, and pointed a finger at Buffy, and then at Faith who picked up an axe that was lying on the floor, "Buffy? What?"

"Yeah," grimaced Buffy, "we need to talk, but not tonight."

"Buffy," said Riley putting his weapon on his side, the barrel facing down onto the floor, "you and Faith… you…"

"Tomorrow, soldier-boy," replied Faith as she lay the axe on her shoulder. She then turned to Buffy and whispered that they needed to get back and tell 'their guys' that things were back to normal.

"Or as normal as normal can get in this town," she whispered as Buffy nodded her head.

"Go home, Riley," said Buffy turning to the soldier in front of her, "look we won't tell anyone we saw…"

Buffy narrowed her eyes and then turned to Faith who was looking back at her with her mouth wide open. Althanea, once she had gotten her voice back, contacted Buffy and Faith telepathically through magic. She told them that Willow was back, and that after performing a location spell, she found that Willow was at her own house.

"Come to our room tomorrow," said Buffy pointing at Riley before she turned, and ran alongside Faith. They ran out the door, and then onto the stairs that would lead them down the ground floor while hearing Riley shout Buffy's name. But Buffy wouldn't stop for him, not even for a second as she ran down the stairs in a hurry with Faith by her side. Althanea had told them through their magical telepathic link that it had taken some time to perform a location spell for both her and Faith, and for Willow, without using her voice.

The witch told them, just as they got to the ground floor and was nearly out of the clock tower, that she had only sensed Willow ten minutes ago. Althanea 'said' that all of them wanted to leave at the same time, but figured that since the Gentlemen were still out there, it would be better to perform a location spell for the two Slayers. She continued to 'say' that once they had determined where the two Slayers were, she ran a spell searching for Willow, before getting out there. She said that once their locations had been discovered, Giles left with Xander and was heading to the two Slayers. The Witch 'told' Buffy and Faith that Giles told her, and the other remaining women, to lock the doors and not let anyone into the apartment until they got back.

Just as Althanea had finished 'talking' in their heads, Faith and Buffy were at a full run on the road outside when they saw a car. They were running at full speed on the pavement when the car's headlights blinked, and the horn blared while heading towards the two of them. It came to a screeching halt alongside them, and then Xander looked out the window and told them to get into the car. Wordlessly, and in a hurry, Faith and Buffy rushed into the car which then screeched its tires while it quickly turned around. Giles pressed down on the accelerator, and then shot off down the road, away from the clock-house. It was just as Giles' car made a left turn, that three black vans made a turn from the street on the right, and headed towards the clock-house.

Back in Giles car, the four occupants remained silent as the car was being driven as fast as possible. Buffy had questions about how Althanea knew that Willow was back on Earth, but she didn't care about asking.

She just wanted to see Willow.

Unknown to Buffy, that same thought in regards to Willow's arrival was going through Faith's head as well. She didn't know Willow at all, but from everything that Giles and Buffy and Xander had told her, she would have liked the redhead. Faith turned to look at Buffy, who was looking out the window at the trees and houses that were rushing past them in a blur. She could see the blonde Slayer's shoulders trembling, and she gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

Buffy turned around with tears in her eyes, and looked at her sister Slayer.

"How… how… how can she be here now?" whispered Buffy, her voice threatening to break while looking at Faith, and then at Giles who was looking back at her through the rear-view mirror, "why.. why wasn't she back yesterday, and…."

"Perhaps it was because of the flow of time in Acathla's dimension, Buffy." Giles said as he looked back out to the lit road in front of him, "that's a possibility. In either case, she's home and…"

"How long was she down there?" muttered Xander, who was looking out the window. It was the first question he had asked since getting into the car, a question he was afraid to ask. His mind was going through what he'd do to Willow once they had found her. In his imagination, he was running towards Willow and hugging her tight, swearing that he'll never let the redhead go again. Xander looked out at the blur of trees, houses, and lights and then turned to face Giles before repeating his question calmly. However, no matter how calm he seemed to be in the outside, he was still shaking thinking about Willow, and the things that she may have been through in Hell.

"A little more than a thousand years, according to Anya," muttered Giles as he continued to drive while Xander and Buffy looked out the window, and Faith put her hands on the driver seat and leaned forward.

"Will she be alright?" she asked.

"I don't know." Giles looked at the rear-view mirror once again and looked at Buffy and Faith, before looking out at the road, "but… but we need to be prepared for anything. We don't know what happened to Willow and…"

"Will she be the Willow we know?" asked Buffy as she looked out the window while wiping her eyes.

"I… I don't know." Giles was being honest with his answer. He had talked to Anya about Acathla's Hell, and even she feared it. When Xander had first met the vengeance demon, he brought her to Giles. The both of them asked the young woman if it was possible for them to wish Willow back to Earth. Xander still remembered that day, while Giles told Buffy and Giles the type of Willow they could expect, when Anya glared at Xander and asked if he only saw her as a Vengeance demon who grants wishes, or he just likes her for the orgasms.

"My boss, D'Hoffryn, won't let me… or any of his vengeance demons take anyone out of any of the thousands of Hell dimensions," said Anya after Xander reassured her that they were dating because he was interested in her, "and before you ask why? We're Vengeance Demons… we bestow vengeance on behalf of those who call on us. And anyway, I haven't granted a vengeance wish in months… and the big boss isn't happy with me. If I could save Willow? Then I'll be punished… and… and D'Hoffryn would sent the both of us... me and Willow, back to Hell. I'm sorry, I can't help you."

Xander was pulled back from his thought when they saw a group of police cars, and an ambulance, coming up behind them. Giles pulled his car to the side of the road, and then waited and watched as the vehicles made a left turn.

"That's the way to Willow's house," said Buffy as Xander leaned forward, and then looked at Giles, and nodded his head.

 **The Rosenberg residence.**

Willow slowly stopped scratching the wooden porch and moving her legs wildly. She was still as her whimpering stopped, and all that Sheila and Ira could hear was her breathing. Ira put the phone down behind him and looked at the state of his daughter before he slowly reached out with one hand. He saw Willow shifting her eyes to his hand before whimpering again while her face twisted to one of anguish.

So he slowly pulled away his hand, and her whimpering stopped.

"Willow."

Willow didn't know why the man in front of her was calling her by that name. She had been beaten and tortured so much while being called 'it', that she believed that was her name. She felt the woman whose lap she was lying on humming a tune, and she felt herself calming down even more. She couldn't place the tune, in actuality, she couldn't remember the tune… but it was helping her remain calm.

She could feel herself breathing the fresh air, mixed with a scent that she didn't recognize coming from the woman. The night was silent as she looked at the man looking back at her with concern on his face. There was something at the back of her mind saying that the man would never hurt her.

But Willow had been hearing a lot of things for many years.

Snarls, Roars, gnashing teeth; all sounds that she would hear before getting ripped apart, and then reformed in her cell complete with pain.

As she looked at the man, Willow noticed something important; she didn't feel the pain that used to constantly course through her body; pain that broke her mind, and made her forget who she was. It was the constant pain that made her unable to sleep; and when she did sleep, she saw herself dying over, and over again. Right now, she only felt pain that came as a result of the beatings by the straightjacketed creatures she killed.

That pain was slowly fading away. But Willow was still afraid; afraid that the pain would come back, that this was just trick to lower her guard. She was afraid that a demon would come out of nowhere and kill the two people, and then it would torture Willow. She was afraid she would die again, and the pain would return a thousand fold, further shattering her mind.

Deep down, Willow didn't care anymore. She had wanted to die at the hands of the demon. But if this is just another trick of the Hell she believed herself to be inside… then there was no dying. She couldn't remember what she did to find herself here, but she expected to die again. So she closed her eyes, and listened to the hum of the woman.

She was lying on the floor, while her head and part of her upper body was on the woman's lap. Willow held onto the woman's knee, and released a sigh.

Willow expected to die again. She believed this was another test, and that there was no hope for death to take her.

It was just then that Ira looked up, and Sheila looked over her shoulder at the sounds of sirens that were getting closer. Sheila then looked down once she felt Willow's body tense. The white haired young woman's ears perked up at the sounds of the sirens. Willow started to shake her head while her body trembled as she tried to get up. But Sheila's hands were gently keeping her down; the woman was trying comfort her daughter with her voice. However, Willow started to whimper again while listening to the woman gently telling her that it was going to be alright.

Willow didn't hear Sheila talking to her, all she could hear were the loud sirens. And she knew that this was it, that this was the sign of the demon coming for her. The horde was coming to rip her apart again. Willow violently shook while she started panting, her hands moved wildly, as did her feet while Sheila and Ira looked on in worry.

Before the two adults could do anything, Willow screamed before ripping herself away from Sheila's arms. The older redhead, and Ira, then saw Willow scramble back away from them while they slowly got up to their feet.

"Willow," whispered Sheila as she held out her hand towards her daughter, "you're safe…. You're home. Those monsters who took you away will never get you again."

Willow continued to shake her head while she scrambled back while watching both Sheila and Ira with her eyes narrowed. Willow then got down on all fours and bared her teeth, growling as Sheila and Ira took a step forward, and then took a step back while putting their hands up.

"Willow, honey," whispered Ira as the young woman looked at him while baring her teeth, "you're safe… I.. know it's been a long time and… and Oh God, what they did to you is inexcusable, but you're safe. I'm your dad… remember? Your second word was dada… we taped it… remember, Willow? Your first words were Ma… remember?"

"Willow."

Willow closed her eyes and grabbed her head while her face was twisted in pain. She collapsed onto the porch floor while she whimpered when she had a memory flash. She remembered her arms around the man's neck as they were walking, the man looked younger than he was… she remembered laughter. She remembered the woman bouncing her on her knees. Willow remembered laughing.

"Da..a.. da.. a.." Sheila and Ira nodded their heads as Willow spoke in a deep hoarse voice, "m…aa…"

The two adults nodded their heads excitedly as Willow shook her head.

Willow knew it was a trick, that Hell was tricking her, as her head stated to hurt. Willow got back up on all fours when she saw Ira and Sheila coming towards her, telling her that 'mommy and daddy' missed her very much.

Ira and Sheila stopped, and then moved a few steps back when their daughter growled. Ira heard the police cars and the ambulance screech to a stop on the driveway. He saw police officers rushing towards them while Sheila was trying to calm down Willow who was preparing to strike. The noise, the rush of people, and the lights were an assault on her senses. She looked around as four more people in dark clothes joined Ira and Sheila.

Willow started to growl at them.

"Officers," said Ira, "stay back from her… look, she was taken, and from what it looks like? Those who took her subjected her to… to, Oh God, to imprisonment and… and those monsters, they… they... it looks like they debased her and…"

"Please, just step back," asked Sheila as two paramedics rushed up the stairs while one was waiting at the driveway with a gurney, "she must have been kept away from the outside world for…."

"Sir," said one of the officers, "we know about her case. Detective Kennedy is on her way, and.. and we just want to make sure she gets the medical attention she…"

Willow then growled again when she heard another car screeching to a stop.

One of the officers shouted at his colleague to keep the newcomers away. At the same time, Ira and Sheila saw Buffy, Giles, Xander, and Faith – the latter of whom Ira had been counseling- get out of the car. Giles yelled that they had been worried about the two of them, and came by to make sure that everything was all right.

A police officer was keeping Giles and the others away from the driveway. Even though he knew what was going on, Giles still asked the officer if everything was alright so that they wouldn't get suspicious.

"What are there so many police vehicles?" asked a concerned Giles as he looked at the cars, and then at the ambulance, and back to the officer again, "why is there an ambulance? What has happened?"

"I can't tell you, sir," said the officer as he held the four of them back, "I just need you to stay back for now, all of you."

Back on the porch, Willow continued to growl as Sheila and Ira, together with one of the paramedics, walked toward her slowly.

"Willow," whispered Ira gently while putting a hand on the paramedic's shoulder, "this nice man here is just going to make sure that you're all right and.."

Willow shook her head wildly while snarling. She gnashed her teeth at the people in front of her. To her, they were demons… this was just a trick. It had to be. Willow screamed and then shifted her body towards the porch sidewall. She then swiftly lifted herself and jumped over the side of the porch while Ira and Sheila shouted her name.

Buffy was looking at the porch when she noticed someone in a blue robe jumping over the side. She then heard Ira and Sheila shouting Willow's name, and the blonde Slayer took off running despite the officer shouting at her to stop. Buffy ran behind the ambulance, and then past it and saw some of the officers chasing her. But she was much fast than them, and the Slayer overtook them in a few seconds.

"Willow!" yelled Buffy as she grabbed the young woman's arm. Buffy ran past Willow, who stopped and then held her hands out to her side, her fingers curved inwards as the white haired young woman growled at Buffy, and then at the approaching officer who had their hand on a lump on their belts.

"Miss," said one of the officers, "get out of…" Buffy saw them reaching for Tasers instead of their sidearm, and Buffy wanted to prevent them from even using that weapon.

"Wait, please," said Buffy as she put her hands out while she looked at Willow who was snarling at the officers, and then at Buffy. And then she saw everything under the soft light of a lamppost, away from the lights from the police cars. Buffy's eyes teared up when she saw the white hair covered in dried blood and dirt, she saw the hints of red underneath the robe on Willow's skin. The Slayer then saw the circular brand on her chest, and then she saw blood, red and green, spattered on Willow's face. She saw the white haired young woman's hands were covered with the green blood… and then Buffy looked into her eyes.

She saw rage, pain, hurt; she saw a lifetime of pain from a person desperate not to go through that again.

"Willow," she said as her voice broke. Buffy saw the police take a step forward, and then the young woman asked them to give her a minute… that she'll try and calm Willow down. Buffy looked behind Willow, and saw in the distance that Sheila and Ira were being held back while screaming for Willow, and yelling at the officers not to hurt her. Buffy turned back to the growling young woman who was about to jump her, "it's me, Buffy. Do you remember me?"

Willow closed her eyes and grimaced when she had a memory flash. She felt as if memories were being dug up out of the deepest parts of her mind. It hurt, she felt pain again as she fell to the ground holding her head just as an officer pushed Buffy away while the other officers held Willow down while a paramedic injected her with a sedative. It was then that the officer holding back Ira and Sheila let them run to Willow, the thrashing from their young daughter slowly stopping. They kneeled next to Willow while the other officers stepped back, and the paramedic was looking the young girl over.

In the meantime, Willow's breathing normalized as she looked at Buffy.

"Uh, hi, Willow, right?" In the memory, Willow found herself looking nervously at the yellow haired young woman who was standing in front of her, while she was seated down on a bench.

"Why? I mean, hi. Do you want me to move?"

"Why don't we start with 'hi, I'm Buffy'.

"Willow." It was back in the present day that Buffy whispered her name again while Sheila and Ira were next to their daughter, "Willow?"

Willow didn't know why she felt she knew the blonde girl in front of her, especially since she didn't know her. Willow remembered flashes of her in her cell, but she never know who she was, and why she was important... or rather, if she was important. All she knew was that her eyes were getting heavy. But she didn't want to sleep, and she whimpered to make her feelings clear. She didn't want the demons to come back after her. But she couldn't stop… Willow closed her eyes, and then found herself being thrown into a pit. She screamed as she fell, and then landed with a thud on the hard, red, ground. Then Willow felt her body being torn apart by invisible forces, and all she could do was scream.

TBC.


	21. Chapter 21

**Los Angeles, California, 2300 hours.**

Cordelia was at a cast party when the phone in her small bag started to ring. Frowning since she was talking to one of the producers, who was telling her that she would have a bigger role in the show, she left the call go to voicemail. When the ringing stopped, she simply told the man that the call wasn't that important. She continued to talk to the man when the phone rang again, and she frowned once again. Sighing, Cordelia discretely opened the bag she was holding, and then checked her caller I.D while still nodding her head at the man who was talking. Her eyes widened at the 'unknown' listing that showed up on the screen before she lifted her hand at the man, and said that she had an urgent call.

The man nodded his head as Cordelia picked up the phone, and brought it to her ear.

"Yea," she said.

"Cordy," rasped Xander. Cordelia could tell that her ex's voice was about to break, and she started to wonder what happened, and if he was alright. Even though she would never have asked him that question directly, and so… Cordelia was about to ask him a question in her trademarked brusque way when Xander coughed and said two words. Two words that had Cordelia nearly drop her phone in shock, while she opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Willow's back," whispered Xander.

"Miss Chase?" asked the producer when he noticed her hand shaking, and her eyes getting wet.

"When… when… when did….?" Asked Cordelia as she raised her hand at the man and then turned away, her voice about to break, "Xander… when.. when…"

"An hour ago," whispered Xander as he leaned against a wall next to a payphone in the hospital. He took a few steps, and looked out into the waiting room where Giles was seated with Ira, and Sheila while Faith and Buffy were standing together… the blonde Slayer occasionally pacing. All of them were waiting to hear about Willow, who the doctors had taken in to be examined after she was brought into the hospital via ambulance. Xander then stepped back and leaned against the wall before wiping his eyes, and spoke to Cordelia, "she… Cordy, she's back but.. but she…"

"How is she?" asked Cordelia as she rushed past her date, after telling the producer that she'll be right back. The young woman walked out to the backyard and rushed to the pool area. There, she took a right, and quickly sat down on a chair so that she could steady herself and wipe her eyes, "Xander, how.. how is she?"

"The doctors have taken her in," whispered Xander, "but.. but she didn't recognize us. Cordy, she… they had to sedate her and… and.. and Anya said that she was down there for a thousand years and… oh God, Cordy."

"I don't have a shoot tomorrow," said Cordelia as she watched her date walk out of the house in his black suit, and red tie. Under the moonlight, she could have sworn that the man she met only three months ago at another party had red glowing eyes. She closed her eyes, shook her head before opening them again as he grabbed a seat and pulled it next to the young woman who told Xander that she would be heading out tomorrow morning. He saw her nod her head, before saying goodbye and then putting the phone down. With hands that were shaking, Cordelia put the phone into her small bag, and looked up at her date. He then sat down and held her hand, asking her what was wrong.

Cordelia looked into his brown eyes and believed that the shock of hearing that Willow was back, played tricks with her mind. She looked at his hands, and then back up to his face, before telling him that she needed to travel to Sunnydale tomorrow.

"Sunnydale?" he asked confused at why she needed to go back to her hometown, "why? I mean, why now?"

"A.. a friend of mine returned," said Cordelia as she wiped her eyes, and then looked into his eyes, "Brian, this friend of mine? She.. she was kidnapped a year and a half ago. These monsters took her and…"

"And what happened?" asked Brian as he looked at Cordelia in concern; however, hidden away from the young woman in front of him, his thoughts were much darker. He was enraged. He listened as Cordelia, who was still seated, held his hand and told him about her friend, Willow Rosenberg, being kidnapped and missing for one and a half years. Until now.

"She returned yesterday," she said shaking her head, "I.. I need to go back and.. and just see her and…"

"We'll go," whispered Brian as he leaned forward and caressed Cordelia's cheek, "I mean… I'll go with you, if you don't mind that is. I can see how upset you are, and I don't want you to be alone."

"That's going to be great," said Cordelia as she gave a small smile before he leaned in to kiss her. Brian then moved back before telling the young woman that the trip would do him good too.

"Maybe I can find new talent and make their dreams come true," smirked Brian as he ran his fingers through Cordelia's hair. He ran his hand down to the back of her neck and gently massaged it while she closed her eyes, "like what I tried to do with you."

"It would have been too easy," mumbled Cordelia as Brian got up and then pulled her up to her feet, "besides, you already have a lot of new talent who's signed on to your talent agency. You don't need me."

Brian smiled as the both of them walked back into the house, and then said their goodbyes to the hosts before heading off for Cordelia's apartment. Walking into her elevator, Brian grabbed the young woman, turned her around and held her against the elevator wall. They continued kissing from the elevator, to Cordelia's room.. and then towards the bed while the took off each other's clothes, and let them fall onto the floor. Brian grinned, while rage simmered just underneath, as Cordelia's bed squeaked, while the young woman started to moan. He leaned forward and whispered that if she had been with his agency, then she would have seen amazing things.

Cordelia gasped as he leaned back, and entered her. He listened to Cordelia's screams which brought him back to memories of watching Willow's torture down in Hell. Brian pounded Cordelia harder, her screams reminding him of the humans that Willow tortured; people that he had made deals with; that they would gain fame, in return for serving Acathla. As he flipped the panting Cordelia over, he grabbed her hips and continued the motions; all the while imagining her as Willow's ultimate punishment. He wanted to sign her up for his agency, he wanted her to sign the deal which he knew that human's would never complete reading, and then he would have killed her. He would have brought her to Acathla's hell, and made her Willow's latest victim before she attempted her escape.

'I read her mind,' thought Brian as he grunted while grabbing a tight hold of Cordelia's hips, 'I saw you, I saw the Slayer, the idiot, and the old man. You were the easiest, at least that's what I thought. But you said 'no' every time, after I sought you out after that second episode of 'All of Us'. I promised you better roles, but you said any deal was too good to be true. You even joked that you didn't want to sell your soul.

"Don't stop!" cried Cordelia as she looked back at Brian, and then put her forehead on the bed as she let out a scream.

'That's the scream I wanted to hear while Willow tortured you,' thought Brian as Cordelia collapsed panting, and he collapsed on top of her, 'I have your trust now, I would have had you sign a deal, and then killed you like I killed the others. Then I would have taken your soul to hell, and given you to the traitor…. Given you to 'It'. Put you under a spell where you would have been a demon, and she would have no choice but to kill you. You.. a friend of hers. Once she killed you, then she would have a moment of clarity. She would have seen that she killed her friend… she would have gone insane, she would have lost her humanity. But.. but that could still happen. I have to check the cage… I don't know how, but if 'it' is gone? Then I'll bring 'It' back, how dare she escape.. she's my plaything... 'It' is my plaything.'

Brian rolled the sweaty, and panting Cordelia over. She was facing him before they kissed again. He grinned before saying that he wasn't done with her. Cordelia giggled before saying that she was done, but the rest of her voice was muffled by another kiss from Brian. She cried out as she scratched his lean back while Brian was shaking the bed once again. Cordelia drew blood from the scratches, which almost immediately healed.

It was an hour later, long after Cordelia had gone to sleep, that Brian put on his suit and tie, and then silently walked out of the apartment. He ambled towards the stairwell and walked up to the roof. Walking out the roof access door, Brian reached into his pocket, and took out a crystal that was oval shaped and red in colour. Smiling, he whispered a spell that opened a red coloured doorway out of nowhere.

The man then walked through the doorway and found himself in a dark and dank hallway where a green-skinned masked demon was kneeling, his head looking down on the ground. Brian looked at the demon as his eyes turned red before he looked at the other closed doors along the hallway, and then back down at the demon.

"Lord Borzan," growled the demon while it was still looking down at the blood spattered floor, "welcome back, I.."

"Where is 'it'?" demanded Borzan as the masked demon looked up at him, "where is 'it'?"

"I was about to carve her for food when she vanished days ago," growled the demon, "a light took her away, she…"

"Prepare her cell," snarled Borzan as he grabbed the demon by the neck and then lifted it up with one hand, "I'll be bringing her back personally."

"Ye.. yes, my Lord." The demon struggled to speak as Borzan tightened his grip on its neck, "the cell… will… will be prepared."

"Good," roared Borzan as he threw the demon to one side, slamming it against the wall. He then turned around, opened another portal and then walked through it while thinking to himself, 'she's the first to escape… too bad. I'll force her back, she is mine… my powers may be limited on Earth, but I can take the Slayer. 'It' belongs to me now… and she will be mine again. Perhaps, I will eat her when I return… ummm.'

A smile appeared on his face as he stepped out of the portal and back onto the roof, Borzan opened the roof access door and then walked through into a well lit hallway that led to the top of a flight of stairs. He walked down a few flights of stairs before entering a hallway that led to Cordelia's apartment. He opened the door, and then quietly walked inside... gently closing the door behind him before walking over to Cordelia's room as he took off his clothes again. He slipped under the sheets behind the young woman, and then wrapped his hand on her abdomen before kissing her shoulder blade.

He then closed his eyes and went to sleep; his dreams full of what he would do to Willow once he had her back in Hell. Borzan smiled before licking his lips as he imagined tasting Willow's soul enhanced flesh. This time, he would prolong her pain… he missed her screams.

He wanted his 'It' back.

 **Angel Investigations, Los Angeles, that same time.**

Angel was in his apartment underneath the Angel Investigations offices as he sat in front of a television, while drinking a cup of warm pigs blood. He took a sip while he watch a show from the seventies when the phone in the far corner of his bed started to ring. Angel put the mug on a side table next to his couch, and then headed for the phone.

He knew that if he was alive then his heart would be beating wildly. Angel had sent the scroll to Giles, and the Watcher did call him later that night to tell him that they had tried the spell, with Buffy and Faith already out searching for Willow all over the city.

'They found no sign of her,' thought Angel to himself after that call, 'she wasn't at the mansion, they scouted Willow's house with no luck, they checked the school… but nothing. Giles and the others even went out, but came back with nothing. I… I know this spell will work, it has to work.'

Back in the present day, Angel's hand hovered over the ringing phone for a moment before he picked it up, and placed it to his ear.

"Angel?"

"Giles," said the ensouled vampire as he took a seat on his bed while leaning forward and putting his elbow on his knee, with his forehead in the palm of his hand, "is.. did…"

"Willow has returned," said Giles, his voice threatening to break as he leaned back against the wall, next to the same payphone that Xander had used more than an hour earlier. He sighed, turned and then peeked into the hallway that had the waiting room at the end and watched Buffy, Faith and Joyce all sleeping on a couch, while Xander and Anya were asleep on another two. It was a few minutes later that Althanea and Jenny walked over to the waiting room with cups of coffee in their hands for themselves and Giles. Giles noticed the silence on the phone before he leaned back next to the phone again, away from the others so that they couldn't see him, "she… she's been gone for a long time."

"I know," whispered Angel shaking his head as he looked up, and then down again while trying to keep his voice from breaking. All the while, he was trying to imagine what Willow must have been through. Giles told Angel in hushed tones about how Willow had been acting around her parents, and then Buffy. Angel listened wordlessly as Giles described the state she was based on Buffy's and the Rosenberg's descriptions. Giles told him that the doctors had already talked to Sheila and Ira, who were in the unconscious Willow's room, keeping her company so that she wouldn't be alone… even though it seemed to them as if she didn't recognize them.

"Angel," whispered Giles, "her hair has turned white… I mean other than the blood that the Rosenberg's had found her covered in.. Willow's hair is completely white."

"I.. I heard rumours about fear and… oh God, fear and distress… I mean, extreme fear and distress can turn hair white," said Angel as he looked down at his floor in shame, "she was tortured who knows how many times, Giles. She... Giles, do you think that.. that she still has her mind? Her humanity?"

"I'm not sure about her mind," whispered Giles, "I… I believe a vestige of her humanity remains; she could have killed her parents… but she knew them enough to stay calm and collected… at least until the police arrived. They told me that she was… unlike herself when the police came, or even when Sheila called out for Ira when Willow first arrived home."

"Then there's a chance for her to be just like how she used to be?" asked Angel.

"You didn't see her," whispered Giles, shaking his head as he recalled what Angelus had done to Willow in front of him. All Giles could do to control his anger was remind himself that he was talking to Angel, not Angelus… but sometimes, he could help but think of them as one and the same, "from what Buffy and her parents have said… I… I don't believe that the Willow we once knew would ever return. Althanea will be contacting the Devon Coven for a way to mystically heal Willow. I… I believe that her torture and torment in Hell broke her psyche… it'll break anyone, and the fact that she hasn't gotten fully feral is a positive sign."

"Meaning Willow's in there… somewhere," said Angel nodding his head.

"This is all conjecture at this point," said Giles, "Ira has told me that there are numerous cuts, slash marks, claw marks… all healed of course… on her body. He told me about this circular brand… a brand that Buffy has seen as well, on her chest. And the doctors told him that there was another brand on her shoulder blade. They've already collected the blood and dirt that was on her body, and they will be submitting it for a test tomorrow."

"I… I don't know if I should…"

"It would be best if you keep away, Angel," whispered Giles as he took off his glasses, "you have been a great help with helping us find a way to bring Willow back… but…"

"I… I understand," said Angel, his voice breaking again. He didn't say a word until he steadied himself before continuing to speak, "I.. I'm glad she's back, Giles.. Look.. look after her."

"We're all hoping for the best," whispered Giles before he said goodbye, as did Angel. They then put down their respective phones; Giles walked back to the waiting room where he sat next to Jenny, and drank some coffee, while Angel wiped his eyes and then stood up, and walked out of his apartment.

Leaving the TV on, and the mug of pig's blood on the table next to the couch.

He needed some fresh air.

One part of Angel was ecstatic that Willow was finally back, but the other part was torturing him; he was wondering what Willow had to go through in hell, and the thought of Willow being in pain for hundreds of years tore him up inside. The man continued to walk aimlessly until he found himself outside Lily's apartment complex. He looked up the stairs at the glass doors to the lobby before he turned around, and started to head back to his apartment. Stopping after a few steps, the ensouled vampire turned around again, and remembered that even after telling Lily the truth about what he had done to Willow, she never judged him.

She was the one, as well as Doyle, who told Angel that he wasn't the one responsible; even though he believed it was. She told him it was Angelus.

Angel walked back towards the apartment complex once again, and then up the stairs. His fingers hovered over the call button for Lily's apartment. The man hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Shaking his head while whispering that this was a stupid idea, Angel turned back around and walked down the stairs. He then wrapped his coat around himself, and headed for Angel Investigations once again.

As he was walking leisurely towards his office, the man had come across two vampires attacking a woman. Taking care of them in short order, the screaming woman ran off in one direction, while Angel continued his walk to his office… and to his apartment in the basement. Nearing his apartment thirty minutes later, Angel narrowed his eyes when he saw a figure in a hat stand up after he was sitting on the steps to the office.

He then ran towards Angel while calling his name.

It was Doyle; and from the way his voice was pitched, Angel could tell that the man was troubled about something.

"Angel," he said as he pulled the man towards the office, and then hurriedly up the stairs, "we have a problem."

"Easy, easy," said the vampire as he took out his keys and opened the door. He stepped in first, followed by Doyle. Closing the door behind him, Angel looked at the man who was pacing the floor while looking at him. Doyle put both his hands on the top of his head, and then stopped when Angel grabbed a hold of him and asked him what was the problem.

"The Powers sent me a vision," said Doyle as he looked into Angel's eyes, "they showed me… they showed me the death of the two Slayers, Angel. Buffy and Faith died, I saw an old guy die.. and… and a few others by a guy in a black suit and red eyes. He was holding onto this white haired chick by the throat and then.. then they walked through a red portal."

"A white haired girl?" asked Angel.

"Yeah," said Doyle shaking his head as he looked at the stunned expression on the vampire's face, "who…"

"The spell worked, Doyle," said Angel as the younger man opened his eyes wide in surprise, "Giles called me and… and she's back. Willow's back."

"Then she brought something back with her," said Doyle, "I'm glad she's back and… I really am. But this is something that wasn't in the scroll and.. and what if something else came through? For her?"

It was something that Angel didn't want to think about as he looked at Doyle; that something could have come through to this world from Acathla's Hell. Angel asked Doyle if he knew when this vision was supposed to take place, but all the young man could do was shake his head before saying that all he received was a feeling that it would be happening soon.

"Find out everything you can about Acathla's Hell," ordered Angel as he pointed at Doyle who was about to say something, "and yes, I know we've studied everything on that bastard and his home. Back then, we were searching for a way to bring Willow home, now we need to know what kind of a thing followed her here. You saw the demon in your vision, right?"

"Yeah," said Doyle while walking towards a table where Angel picked up the phone in the corner, and dialled a number, "I can check the books for a description and…"

Angel put up his hand, signalling the young man to hold on while he talked to Lily. The Vampire told the groggy girl that Willow had returned and, before she could get excited about the news, that Doyle had a vision which indicated that something had followed her as well. Angel told then surprised Lily that it was going to kill everyone; from the Slayers to, possibly, Willow.

"I need you to pack up your computer and your… internet.. thing. The thing you used when we were on the move searching for information on…. Yeah… that's the one. On the way to Sunnydale, you need to search for any type of circular branding associated with Acathla," said Angel as he glanced over at the look of confusion on Doyle's face, "I know you just got up and… and please. I need your help, Lily."

"Of course I'm going to help, Angel," yawned Lily as she stretched an arm over her head while arching her back. She then got off her bed, and headed for her closet and took out some clothes, before she went to her laptop. She put the device, and a dongle into a bag, while telling Angel that she was going to be ready in ten minutes.

"Doyle and I will be at your apartment in fifteen minutes," said Angel as Doyle rushed to another room, and Angel started to immediately hear thuds, "he's already getting the books we have on Acathla, and once those have been packed into the car, we'll come pick you up and head for Sunnydale. Giles and the others don't have cell phones, so we'll make a stop at the hospital before.. before heading to the mansion so that we can do our research."

"Got it," said Lily as she took off her pyjama bottoms, and then put on a pair of underwear and jeans, "see you in ten, Angel."

"Yeah," said the vampire before putting the phone down, and then heading to the other room to help Doyle with the books. They needed to find out what was going on, and then once they reached Sunnydale, they needed to warn Buffy and the others of the upcoming danger.

As Angel helped Doyle with the heavy books; only one thought was going through his mind.

He was going to protect Willow this time. He was going to ensure that she didn't get hurt again.

TBC.


	22. Chapter 22

**Sunnydale Mercy Hospital, 0300 hours.**

Buffy was awake, while Xander was asleep with Anya laying her head on his lap; she saw that Joyce was sleeping on the couch in the waiting room while lying on her side and keeping her knees up on the cushions. In the meantime, Althanea, Jenny, and Giles were just looking out into space while drinking coffee. She then looked at Faith whose head was resting on the armrest while she lay on her side, and her feet were lying on Buffy's thighs. Sighing as she looked at the dark-haired Slayer's feet, Buffy then looked up at the door that led to Willow's room; she knew that Ira and Sheila were in her room, keeping their unconscious daughter company while the others remained outside. The blonde Slayer slowly got off the couch while lifting Faith's legs. She slipped out from under them before letting Faith's legs fall on where the blonde Slayer was once sitting. Once she was standing up, Buffy yawned and stretched her arms over her head while twisting her upper body. The young woman then put her arms down and walked towards Giles and the two women, asking then if they had anything that would help Willow.

"I've already contacted the Devon Coven," said Althanea, "I'm waiting to hear from them on ways to help Willow recover."

"After so long," whispered Jenny, "is it possible to get back the Willow we knew?"

"No," said Giles as Buffy sat down next to her Watcher, and looked down at the table, "everything she experienced in… in Hell.. those experiences will remain with her for all time. It's a part of her now. She'll never be the same person. But…"

Giles then reached into his pocket and took out the Galaxy Ranger badge, and held it in the palm of his hand before whispering.

"Maybe this would jog her memory, give her something to hold on to."

"She didn't remember us," whispered Buffy as she looked at the door to Willow's room through the waiting room window one more time, and then slowly got up.

"Buffy?" asked Jenny as the blonde Slayer walked around her seat, and out of the waiting room. Giles watched Buffy through the window that made up the top part of the waiting room wall as she put a hand onto the handle of Willow's door, and turned it slowly. Giles and the others watched her walking to the room, and then gently closed the door behind her.

While Giles and the others went back to what they were doing earlier, Buffy closed the door as gently as she could. Once it was closed, she took off her shoes so that she didn't wake up Ira or Sheila in case they scuffed onto the floor and made strange noises. Once her shoes were off, Buffy kept them to one side and tip-toed into the room. The first thing she saw as she pulled back the green coloured curtain were two cots placed side by side. Both Ira and Sheila were sleeping on those cots as Buffy took a few more steps forward, and looked to a large recess to her right.

It was her.

Buffy held on to the wall as she saw Willow lying unconscious on the hospital bed. Buffy saw the various machines that had leads attached to her, as well as an I.V drip connected to her left wrist. The blonde Slayer put a hand on her chest as tears gathered in her eyes while she crept forward, all the time she was hearing the faint sound of Willow breathing, combined with the sound made by the heart monitor. She looked at her best friend's pulse, blood oxygen level, her blood pressure, and various other things that she didn't understand.

But those didn't matter to her. The numbers didn't matter.

What mattered to her was Willow.

Willow was here; Willow was finally home with her family and friends.

And they were going to help bring her back to who she was.

'Giles said it's not possible for you… I mean the you that I know and love not to come back,' thought Buffy to herself as she held on to the railing at the side of the bed, 'but I have to believe it is, I have to believe my best friend is in there somewhere. Will, I need you by my side… I have Faith, I have Xander, Giles, Miss Calendar, Althanea, mom, but you were the one I am missing. You are my best friend, Willow… I missed you so much… come back to me.. come back to us. I wanna talk about so many things with you, like… oh.. oh.. we've been looking after Oz's grave. I can tell he's been waiting for you to visit and… and… and… oh.. oh.. I like this guy who I've just found out is part of some military thing and.. and… stupid Buffy. I'm sorry, Will. I'm just so excited to see you again that… that I can't think and… damn it. I wanna talk about just us. So come back Willow, I'll be here to help you. Just come back.'

Buffy wiped the tears falling down her cheeks before she reached for the young woman's pale forehead. Buffy brushed the back of her fingers on Willow's forehead, and brushed her damp, white hair. She then leaned forward, and kissed the side of Willow's head.. taking in the smell of strawberries; a scent that came from a sponge bath that was given to the young woman after the blood, dirt, and other things pertinent to the about to be re-opened police investigation were collected.

"Welcome back, Will," whispered Buffy into her ear before she reached for Willow's hand. And squeezed gently. Buffy then looked at the two parents, who were fast asleep, and smiled slightly before creeping past them towards the green curtain. She gently pulled it back, and then walked around it. Buffy slipped her shoes onto her feet, and then opened the door gently to see Giles and then others keeping their heads down while talking to each other in hushed tones.

Sighing, Buffy closed the door behind her and walked around the window on the wall to the entrance when she heard a series of footsteps down the hallway behind her. Knowing that the only people around would be the late shift nurses, she and the others didn't pay any mind to the footsteps. Buffy walked through the entrance, and into the waiting room.

And then she sat next to the sleeping Faith. As she sat down, the young woman leaned back and was about to close her eyes when Giles, who was facing the entrance to the waiting room, stood up along with Jenny, and Althanea. Buffy stood up too as a young man and a young woman walked into the waiting room, the young man looked at her and then at Faith before nodding his head. He took off his hat and introduced himself and Lily, before telling them that Angel had sent them.

"Get out," hissed Buffy as she rolled her hands into fists while walking towards them, "I don't want to hear anything that he…"

"Please," asked Lily gently as she looked at Buffy while Xander stirred awake upon hearing the commotion, "just listen and.. and.."

"Wazz… goi… on?" Xander slurred his speech as he wiped his eyes before looking at Buffy and the two strangers, "Buff?"

"These two were sent by Angel," said Buffy while she continued to glare at the two of them.

"Oh no," said Xander as he tried to get up, but then realized that Anya was sleeping on his lap. He told them to hold on for a few seconds while he woke up Anya, who demanded to know if he wanted to become a frog for the rest of his life for waking her up at an ungodly hour. Xander then told her that two of Angel's friends had come by to beg for Angel to see Willow.

"It's not that," said Lily gently while looking at Xander, and then at Buffy.

"Yeah?" asked Xander before he yawned and then got up off the couch, all the while Joyce was already sitting up and about to ask what was going on when Xander approached Lily and Doyle while wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, speaking sarcastically, "after the 'oh so many great things he's done to all of us', yeah… lets welcome him back with open arms and…"

"I had a vision," said Doyle as Xander stopped talking and looked at him with a questioning look. It was then that Giles had a moment of realization before approaching the young man, and asking him if he was the one who received visions from the Powers that Be. Doyle nodded his head before looking at Buffy as Faith slowly opened her eyes, and then sat up upon realizing that they weren't alone, "Angel wasn't going to come out of respect for what he did as Angelus, but I had a vision… a vision that showed you and the other Slayer dead at the hands of a demon. A demon that had its hands around Willow's throat."

"Ok, you've done your jobs, now leave," hissed Buffy as a groggy Faith got up and then walked next to Buffy while rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, "I don't want you or Angel or…"

"We're here to help, Buffy," said Lily gently as she held her hands up, "just like you helped me once."

"What?" asked a confused Buffy as she looked at Lily while racking her brain as she tried to place her. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't. Buffy was about to say something when Lily told her that Buffy saved them from being killed by Spike, that she was one of the people in the club that Ford was going to trap Buffy in so that Spike could kill her. It was then that Buffy's mouth opened wide in realization, and she slowly unclenched her fists while Joyce, who was still groggy, looked around confused. Buffy looked back at her mother who was now sitting up while rubbing her face with her hands, and then at Willow's door, and back to Lily and Doyle.

"Angel saved my life," said Lily as she gave a small smile, "if he didn't, I would have been a slave in a hell dimension. And… and he told me what he did when.. when he was.."

"A crazy monster?" asked Faith as she stood next to Buffy.

"We know that's he's not your favourite person," said Doyle, "in fact, he knows he's not your favourite person. But he's going to do whatever he can to protect you, Faith, and Willow… especially Willow."

"Angel?" asked Joyce after she yawned and stood up.

"Umm…. Jenny," asked Giles as he looked back at his girlfriend, "could you perhaps fill Joyce in on what has transpired?"

"Sure," said Jenny nodding her head before she sat down with Joyce. Giles then turned to Buffy and Faith, and told them that it would be better to hear Doyle out.

"If a demon can kill two Slayers," said Giles as a chill went up his spine, "then we need any help we can get."

"Even if it's from Angel?" asked Althanea.

"Even if," said Giles nodding his head at the witch, before looking at a surprised Buffy and Faith, "I'm not seeing the both of you die. That will not happen, do you understand me; and.. and this demon will not take Willow to hell once again."

"Giles, I…" said Faith as the Watcher shook his head.

"No," he repeated, "and I believe Wesley would say the same thing."

Giles then turned to Lily and Doyle, and asked them where Angel was located. Upon hearing that he was in the car, Giles told the both of them that he would accompany them to his apartment since all of the books he had on Acathla were located there. It was then that Lily said she had searched online for anything in regards to a circular brand that was associated with Acathla, but she couldn't find anything... nor were there any information on the demon that Doyle had described.

Giles believed that it would be best if they all conducted their research at his apartment. Turning around, he asked Althanea if she could accompany them. Nodding her head, the witch stood up and said that she'll have protection spells prepared to be used against Angel.

"Just in case," said the Witch as Lily and Doyle nodded their heads.

"G-man," said Faith as she stepped towards Giles, "I don't like this."

"Neither do I," replied Buffy, "you want me to call Wes?"

"Yes," said Giles, "tell him that Angel has returned bringing portents of doom for both yourself, and Faith. I'll be researching with Angel and... and I will be careful, Buffy."

Buffy and Faith simply nodded their heads, knowing that when Giles made up his mind.. he wasn't going to change it. The loss of Willow had affected him the most, and he was going to protect his Slayers, and his charges, by any way possible. Buffy turned and looked at Jenny who was still talking to Joyce, and walked towards them. In the meantime, Xander, Anya and Faith just sat together… waiting for the sun to rise and hope that the vision was wrong.

However, something inside Faith kept on telling her that the vision was accurate and that made her slightly shudder. She remembered Althanea teaching her some meditation techniques; so she got up from her seat and went out of the waiting room for a quiet walk. Xander and Anya were about to join her, as was Buffy, but she waved her hand, saying she'll be right back. While walking out the room, she glanced at the door to Willow's room while thinking to herself that, while she didn't know Willow, she heard enough from Buffy and Xander about the kind of person she had been. Faith resolved that the former redhead wouldn't be getting hurt by anyone again – be they demon or vampire.

 **Sunnydale Mercy, Reception Desk, 1000 hours.**

Tara parked her bicycle as a Porche parked nearby, and then rushed towards the entrance, and then through the lobby of the hospital before arriving at the reception desk. She looked up at the clock and released a sigh of relief upon realizing that she was right on time.

"Morning, Sarah," said the blonde cheerfully as the orange haired, middle-aged woman yawned before getting up. She then nodded her head and welcomed Tara. The blonde witch then headed up to the computer behind the counter, and then signed into her job while Sarah started to pack up.

"Morning," said the woman as Tara tied her hair into a ponytail while smiling at her. Before Sarah could say anything else, there was a young woman in a sleeveless orange dress who walked up to the reception desk, along with a man in a blue shirt and black trousers.

"I'm looking for Willow Rosenberg's room," she said as Tara and Sarah looked up. Sarah's face turned to a smile as she looked at the young woman who was wearing a pair of sunglasses that she pulled up to her forehead and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh God, you're that actress on 'All of us'," said Sarah, "ummm.. Cordelia Chase, right?"

"Yeah.. well, ordinarily I'd love to give out autographs," said Cordelia as she held on to the man next to her, a man who Tara looked at with eyes full of terror before she forced herself to look away. The blonde had sensed that Sunnydale was odd, she could feel mystical energy all over the city and she believed it had something to do with what happened last night. But what she had just seen topped them all.

Pure evil.

She had seen an aura with the deepest blacks; it was as if she was looking into pure and unadulterated darkness, and her blood chilled. She put her arms around herself and rubbed her upper arms trying to keep warm in the presence of such darkness.

The she glanced at the eyes before looking away; she saw the blazing red eyes.

"Miss?" asked a faraway voice as Tara slowly sat down while she looked at the floor, "hello?"

"Tara?" Sarah nudged the blonde until she looked up at her colleague. Sarah then nodded towards the man standing next to Cordelia. Tara didn't want to see him; she wanted to warn Cordelia about the man… but then again, she was aware of how that may have sounded.

So Tara forced herself to turn and look at Cordelia, who was talking to Sarah about Willow's location, and then at the man; she saw the blackness looking back at her, the red eyes peering into her soul, and the row upon row of sharp jagged teeth. Tara wanted to grab her head and scream, but all she could do was force a smile while her eyes showed her terror.

"Sor… sorry," stuttered Tara as she looked at Cordelia while trying to keep her eyes away from the man, "I…"

"You seemed a bit cold," said the man as he looked at Tara while leaning forward. Tara felt a chill go up her spine while he reached out for a pen that lay right next to her left hand. And the chills increased as he brushed his hand against hers before grabbing the pen. While leaning forward, and with the pen in his hand, he glanced over at Tara, "I smell your pure magic, white witch. I will have it with the other one."

Tara gasped and then quickly got out of her seat, and stumbled back against a wall which contained the hospital directory. Tara could feel her heart racing while blood raced behind her ears, and she could feel the blood draining away from her face.

"Tara?" asked Sarah while Cordelia looked at the blonde who was grabbing her chest and panting while the man leaned back and then took a paper out of his trouser pocket and wrote down a number.

"Coffee, much?" asked Cordelia as she frowned at Tara.

"You're shy, I like that," said the man as he left her a number on a piece of paper, "call me, I know plenty of people who'd like to give someone like you a shot at the big time."

Tara looked at the paper, and then at the man while Cordelia wrapped her arm around his and then hurried off for Willow's room. As they were walking away, Sarah was telling the distracted Tara, who was looking at the paper, that she was excited about meeting one of the new cast members for her favourite day-time soap opera. While Sarah kept on talking about how it was going to be the next 'Passions', Tara looked at the man who was looking back at her while licking his lips.

And her body shudder in fear as his eyes turned red just for an instant. Tara quickly looked away, and then reached for the paper and threw it away. She then turned to Sarah, and interrupted her rambling about the show, and asked about Willow.

"Poor girl, that one," said Sarah with a hint of sadness on her face, "missing for over a year and a half, and then suddenly shows up at her parents house. She's got a long road ahead… I heard she was tortured and bloody, and oh… the news reports back then said that she had bright red hair. When she returned, it was all white… I mean pure white… damnedest thing I've ever heard from the night nurses and… Tara? Where are you going?"

Sarah saw that Tara was already running around the reception desk. She told Sarah to cover her for a few minutes, and that she had to see something.

'That girl… the one who saved me from those things last night,' thought Tara as she ran towards the stairwell. She was going to run all the way to the sixth floor, which was where Willow's room was located, 'Willow… Willow Rosenberg… I… there's something about you that I couldn't help sense. Pain, sorrow, anger, and a deep sadness.. I wanted to thank you but you ran away and.. and you're here. But you're in danger.. I think. A demon's coming after you. A real demon. Oh goddess of light, protect me and the people around me from this great evil.'

TBC.


	23. Chapter 23

**Caltec, Dr. Robert Lee's lab, 0330 hours.**

Anya had teleported into Dr. Robert Lee's lab wearing the balaclava that Willow had once worn as Nighthawk, along with her gloves so that she didn't leave any finger prints. Using the balaclava and the pair of red tinted goggles that Willow had once worn, Anya walked towards a large device in the middle of the room while at the same time using her magic to disable the camera's in the room.

Once all the red lights on the wall cameras had gone out, she reached into her pocket and took out the Galaxy Ranger badge. She looked at the badge and remembered what Giles had told her when he returned dashing into the waiting room after having gone to the lobby with Angel and his friends from Los Angeles.

"If whatever this demon really is able to kill two Slayers," said Giles after he had rushed back into the waiting room. The man reached into his pocket and handed Anya the Galaxy Ranger's badge. He took Anya that she needed to go to Buffy's house where they kept Willow's Nighthawk costume, "so I need you to put on Willow's gloves, balaclava, and the goggles. Then teleport to Caltech, specifically Dr. Robert Lee's lab. Willow told me that the room number was 378, find that room and get inside."

"What do you want Anya to do?" asked Xander as Buffy and the others gathered around as well.

"Willow said that all she had to do was place the badge to the underside of the device," said Giles, "I honestly don't know what will happen, or how long it would take to charge the badge with Alpha radiation. No matter what happens, return to the waiting room by sunrise. Even with a little charge, Willow said the effect can be powerful."

"But…." Said Jenny.

"I'm hoping that the shock of getting her powers activated to a high degree once again will enable Willow to remember who she once was," said Giles, "maybe she won't remember everything, but enough to know she has power to help… she could be the key to preventing Buffy and Faith from dying."

"Will Willow be alright?" asked Joyce.

"I hope so," replied Giles shaking his head, "the truth is I don't know what will really happen. There is no way to know but… but if this prevents… if this gives us even a hope of saving Faith, Buffy, and Willow from being killed or taken back to hell, then I'm taking it."

"I agree," said Althanea as everyone looked at her, "Willow.. the Willow we know would have done everything to protect Faith, Buffy, and any of her friends. She'll take the risk.. I know she will."

After Anya attached the badge on the underside of the machine, she took a step back while noticing the badge giving off a yellow pulsing glow. She leaned back against the wall, and then slipped down onto the floor.

All she could do now was wait as she leaned her head back against the wall. They were about to go against a hell demon they knew nothing about; all with the backing of a vision that showed two Slayers were about to die, and that Willow was going to be dragged to hell once again.

"I hope Giles is right about the badge," whispered Anya, "or else we're all dead."

 **Willow's Room, Sunnydale Mercy, 0830 hours, hours before Cordelia's arrival at the hospital.**

She could hear them.

Screams, growls, and grunts in the dark while she cowered, naked and alone. She would whimper while lying on the foetal position on the wet and sticky floor as the sounds surrounded her, moving all around her. She would open her eyes, looking through the tears and white hair into the darkness beyond. She would see multiple flaming orange eyes looking back at her. And just below the eyes, she could see mouths full of white, gleaming teeth.

Rows upon rows of sharp teeth.

"Get up," said a gentle female voice in the distance.

"It," said a rough male voice right next to her, just before she screamed in pain, excruciating pain because of her escape attempt, from being slashed in her back, "run, it. I want to hunt."

The voice, a deep, maniacal voice, laughed while she screamed again upon as she rolled on something wet, and hard. She sobbed as she looked down at the dark liquid she was rolling in; her blood. She then saw one end of the room lit up, and she screamed upon seeing thousands of skeletons all looking back at her.

Her skeletons.

The skeletons were haphazardly hung on the wall, blood dripping onto them from the ceiling. And 'it' just hung her head and sobbed. She didn't remember who she was, she didn't remember much of anything.. but she felt something in her. And it was that which made her scream again in anguish at where she was.

Hell.

She suddenly gasped as she felt the back of her neck being grabbed by talloned hands. She felt herself being lifted into the air. She looked over her shoulder and saw a being in a black suit and red tie taking form with the talons around her neck turning into fingers. And she knew the man as she screamed.

It was the same man who multiplied her pain. It was Borzan.

He widened his mouth, revealing sharp teeth before striking out with his tongue. It stabbed through her abdomen, and 'it' released a howl as tears came out of her eyes.

Borzan then pulled back his tongue before he licked the flowing blood from the wound, and moaned in ecstasy. He then laughed before he yelled over her screams while pointing at the wall, "Those skeletons are you, It!".

However, just beyond the screams, the young woman called 'It' could still hear a voice. A gentle voice.

"Keep your light away from the darkness," said the female voice as Borzan slammed 'It' onto the floor. The wetness all around her making a disgusting sound as she landed. He then hit her multiple times while she was whimpering and screaming in pain. All the while, she heard the voice in the distance, "push it deep within. You will need it one day, keep it safe… keep your humanity safe. Your memories will be fragmented, your mind will be broken; but not really. They are there, the pieces are deep within you, waiting to be united."

'It' was then picked up by her collarbone, literally, after Borzan dug his fingers into her skin. He then licked his lips while 'it' could only watch through tear stained eyes due to the intense pain going through her body, and the screams that were coming out of her lips. He looked at the brand on her chest, and locked his jaw. Borzan then smiled, saying that he was going to make sure that he brings one of her friends down to Hell.

"I am so close, 'it'," he yelled over her sobbing, "I will bring her here and I will watch your pain after you kill her."

But "It" didn't know what he was talking about. She didn't have anyone; she had dreams of a yellow haired young woman, and a few others, but those would fade due to the intense pain.

As it always has.

Those memories, she didn't know who they were… or why she was having them. But it didn't matter.

She saw Borzan lick his lips, and then slam her back down on the wet floor. He held his grip on her neck, and then pressed down with his other hand on her pelvis. He would then growl into the darkness. And 'it' would hear whines, followed by multiple footsteps running away. Borzan would then look down at her, and say that it was just them again.

"Before I go back to Earth again, my 'it'." That's the last thing he'd say before biting into her entire left side, and then biting down hard. She would scream so loud that the air would tremble as the sounds of bone breaking could be heard. Borzan would make her watch, in her last moments before she was back in her cell screaming in pain, as he ate her flesh.

Usually when she would be back in her cell, she would be screaming on a wet floor. Wet with her blood.

But this time, as she snapped her eyes open and sat up panting and whining, she saw that she was someplace different. She was lying on something soft, surrounding by objects that were attached to her body. She looked at the two people, a man and a woman, sleeping at the end of the room, and her face twisted in fear. She wanted to scream, but there was something telling her not to scream.

She remembered the two of them calling her Willow. She didn't know why they were calling her Willow. But it didn't matter.

The sound coming from the machines was too much for her. Willow pulled out the leads, with several jerking movements, that were attached to her pale skin, and then came the loud long beep. She whined as she covered her ears as the two people in front of her jerked awake. Willow whimpered as they got off what they were sleeping on, and rushed to her. She wondered at the looks of concern on their faces as the man reached somewhere behind her, and then sound went away.

Then came another sound, a disembodied voice that made Willow scrambled up what she had been laying on, and cowered against the wall.

"Crash cart to Room 614! Code Blue," said the voice as Willow whimpered.

"Willow," said the woman gently as the white haired young woman, whose body was shaking in fear, looked up slowly at the older redhead's red eyes. Willow then looked away and shook her head while whimpering. She closed her eyes and whimpered while rocking back and forth, and shaking her head. Willow felt someone sitting next to her, but she was afraid of opening her eyes.

She thought this was another on of Borzan's twisted tricks, and she didn't want to see him.

Then she heard a gentle male voice.

She felt someone gently stroking the back of her head, while someone else gently held on to one of her hands that was covering her ears. Willow opened her eyes to see a teary eyed woman giving her a small smile. She then looked to her right, with fear on her face as her heart raced expecting to see Borzan, instead she saw the man who had just been sleeping. He was sitting next to her, eyes red while wiping tears away with one hand as he stroked her hair with the other one.

"Willow," cried a voice as she cowered, moving away from the man, upon seeing people rush into the room. Willow saw Ira and Sheila looking back at the people who just ran in before saying that she had just woken up, "we… we heard the call and…"

"I need all of you out and… oh," said a man in a white coat who was clearly surprised to see Willow sitting up in bed. He then looked at Buffy and the others, the same people he had ordered out before gently asking them to leave once again. Willow looked at the doctor, and then at the object next to him, and two women in white uniforms. Willow then looked at the blonde, it was the same blonde in her dreams, and at the house last night. She then saw a dark haired young man, and few more people that she didn't recognize. Willow looked at them with fear in her heart, and then looked away whimpering softly.

"We.. we… should leave," said Buffy softly, "we heard the alarm go off and the person called for the cart to Willow's room number and…"

"Ba…aa… ff… ee," struggled Willow as she held both sides of her head while keeping her eyes closed. She recalled that same memory in her mind, of sitting on a bench, and the blonde facing her smiling and waving her hand.

"Hi, I'm Buffy."

"Willow?" asked Buffy as she took a slight step forward.

Willow opened her eyes again, and looked at the blonde young woman, and then back at Sheila and whined.

"She's your friend, Willow," said Sheila gently.

Willow then looked at Buffy, and then at the young man next to him. And Willow closed her eyes and held her head even tighter. She felt something within her trying to claw its way out, when she had a memory flash.

"Come on, Will," said a little boy while Willow was crying while sitting at a small table and surrounded by children, "it's only a yellow crayon."

The little Willow saw through tear stained eyes as the little dark haired boy reached into a box, and then took out a yellow crayon, and handed it to Willow.

"See," said the little boy with a smile on his face while Willow wiped her eyes, and nodded at the little boy.

"Thank you, Xander," Willow said as the little Xander grinned.

Willow opened her eyes, and found herself surrounded as the nurses approached her, along with the doctor. She looked at them, and then at the young man standing next to Buffy out of the corner of her eyes.

"Xa… ann… da," Willow struggled to speak as she looked at the young man who took a few steps forward, but stopped when Willow whined, and looked at Sheila.

"He's your friend too," said Ira softly.

"It's me, Will," whispered Xander as his voice cracked, "it's me."

"I think we should wait outside," said Jenny as she looked at Willow, whose body was shaking, and her heart broke at the sight. She then told Buffy, and Xander, to follow her before she put her hands in their shoulders and turned then around. Faith and Joyce were still outside, hoping for the best as Buffy and the others walked out of the door.

Joyce ran out of the waiting room, followed by Faith and Anya, who asked if Willow was in danger.

"She.. she just woke up," whispered Buffy, "I.. I should call Giles and…"

"I'll call Giles," said Jenny gently, "you guys should rest."

While Buffy and Xander were telling Joyce, Anya, and Faith that Willow seemed to remember their names, Jenny walked over to the payphone while wiping tears from her eyes. She had to call Giles' apartment where he was still researching Acathla's hell and any minions that he may have; as well as the meaning of the brand on Willow's chest. She had called him a few times already, asking the same questions as he researched with Lily, Althanea, Doyle, and Angel.

But the answer was always the same.

"We have nothing," he would say, "yet."

Back in Willow's room, the white haired young woman was gently being told by Ira and Sheila to tell them check on her. However, Willow would cower and whimper while shaking her head whenever they would approach her. Ira gently held on to Willow's hand, now by her side, and whispered that he and Sheila would be with her while they checked in on her.

"We're right here, Willow," cooed Sheila as she sat on one side of her daughter while gently stroking her back.

"We're not going anywhere," whispered Ira as the white haired young woman looked at him, and then at Sheila. In a few seconds, Willow started to relax as Ira tightened his hold on her hand. The Rosenberg's were with Willow the entire time while she was being checked out, the white haired young woman occasionally panicking… especially when a needle was being taken out of it's plastic covering, to draw blood. Her reaction was swift, with her body trembling while she was moving her lips without a sound coming out.

"The blood can be taken later," said Ira gently while iving the nurses and the doctors a look that silently asked them to give his family a moment alone. Once the doctor discretely nodded his head, Ira turned towards Willow while holding her hand, "Willow."

Willow looked at Ira as he repeated himself in a gentle voice. The young woman then started to calm down while the doctor put the needle away. He and the nurses then continued their surface examinations, and… about an hour later, he had already left… but not before saying that he'll make sure that Willow has something to eat and drink.

"I'll have the blood test results soon," said the doctor, "in the meantime, please see that she gets some water."

"Of course," said Sheila nodding her head before she reached for the bedside table while the doctor and his nurses left the room. The redhead poured some water into a cup; something that widened Willow's eyes before she licked her lips. Placing a straw into the cup, Sheila brought it to Willow's lips. Sucking the cool, clear liquid through the straw, Willow moaned as it hit her tongue and then the back of her throat. She felt her face cool down, and then she felt the cooling sensation going down her throat, and then through her entire body as she finished the water in the cup. Releasing the straw from her lips, Sheila refilled it and then brought it to Willow's lips again. Drinking the water while looking at Sheila, Willow didn't notice Ira had gotten off the bed, and then headed towards the closed blinds. Ira pulled the blinds open as sunlight streamed in, and hit the bed. Upon seeing the light, Willow's eyes opened in wonder as more beams of light hit her feet… and her entire body tingled.

She turned and looked at the brightly lit sky, and the birds on the green leafed trees right outside the window.

Willow couldn't tell why, but she felt alive. As Ira pulled the blinds back and more sunlight streamed in, the white haired young woman felt her body getting warm. It wasn't like while she was in Hell… she didn't feel her skin peeling and then melting away before she was eaten.

This was different.

Willow felt alive. She then saw Ira sitting next to her again. He leaned forward while stroking the back of her head, and placed his forehead on the side of her head. Ordinarily, she would be moving away from anyone… but there was something telling Willow that she was safe.

She wasn't in Hell anymore. And now she just needed to find out who was.

TBC.


	24. Chapter 24

**Willow's Room, 0930 hours.**

"Will?" asked Buffy as she sat down next to the white haired young woman. Willow looked at her, and then at Xander who gingerly sat in front of her on the bed. She moved back slightly, whimpering while bringing her knees to her chest, and wrapping her arms around the front… holding them up to her chest.

"I'm not going to harm you, Will," explained Xander as he gave her a small smile while Sheila and Ira were outside talking to Joyce and the others, giving them an update while Buffy and Xander kept Willow company.

"I missed you, Will," said Buffy as she gingerly brushed Willow's hair back behind her ear, "do you…. do you remember me? I mean… do you know me?"

Willow turned to face Buffy, and looked into her eyes before darting her head away. She then looked at the white bedsheet and shook her head. She then looked out the window, and pointed at the sky while back towards Buffy and whimpered.

"Your mom and dad will take you outside once you're ready," whispered Buffy gently as Willow brought her arm down and rested them on her knees. She then looked at Xander, who was wiping some tears, while tilting her head. Looking away as she tried to remember who these people were, Willow shifted her body and lay down on the bed. Her head was hurting as she tried to remember, as she forced herself to remember who these people were to her.

She knew that she should be afraid, but there was something that was calming her down. Something that was telling her that these people wouldn't harm her. Willow looked up as Buffy reached into her pocket, and took out an object. She held it in the palm of her hand before she showed it to the white haired young woman sitting on the bed. It was something that Anya had given to Buffy so that she could show it to Willow after the Rosenberg's were called away by the doctor to his office on the next floor up. They asked her and Xander to stay with Willow, while the others agreed that they could see her later when Ira and Sheila returned. They didn't want to crowd her too much.

Back on Willow's bed, she looked at the object in Buffy's palm. It was the shape of a five pointed star with a ring that went to its edges. She then saw some words on the object, and then another circle within the ring. Willow reached out for the object, it's golden colour attracting her to it, with trembling hands. Buffy and Xander looked at each other, and then at Willow who brushed her finger along the words on the badge. They saw Willow tilt her head to the side while having a faraway look in her eyes while one hand went to the side of her head.

"Will?" asked Buffy when she noticed Willow's body trembling as she jerked her hand away from the object. They looked on helplessly as Willow whimpered and shimmied up the bed, and cowered against the wall. Nervous, Buffy immediately handed the badge to Xander, who then absent-mindedly placed it on a side table while he stood up, as did Buffy and stared at Willow in concern. Taking a step closer, Buffy put her hands up and asked Willow to hear her voice. She saw tears falling down Willow's cheeks before the white haired girl's eyes closed.

Unknown to the blonde Slayer, Willow was having a memory flash of walking into a large room that contained four pedestals. She saw herself walking towards one of the pedestals before looking over her shoulder at three other men behind her; they were all laughing at something the blonde man had said. Willow heard herself laughing, but the voices were so far away as she turned back to her front and looked down. She was wearing a white uniform, with a large shotgun on her hip and a golden badge, which looked similar to the object that was in Buffy's hand. Willow saw herself turn around at the three men before hearing herself say that she was ready.

As were they.

Willow stepped onto the pedestal and then turned to face the other three who were already on their own pedestals.

"Initiate Alpha Radiation charge," said a disembodied voice as rays of light shot up from all around the edges of the pedestal she was standing on, and hit a plate on the ceiling right above her head. And then there was a bright flash of light, and suddenly Willow found herself being held.

Panting as her body was wracked with sobs, Willow opened her eyes to find herself whimpering in Buffy's arms who was hugging her gently. Willow could feel her mind burning as she closed her eyes once again and rested her forehead on Buffy's shoulder while she sobbed at her own helplessness. She had no idea who she was, and why she was having these memories… all she was going on was instinct.

"We're here, Will," whispered Xander as he gently placed a hand on Willow's shoulder, "we're right here."

 **Doctor's Office, 0940 hours.**

Ira and Sheila walked into the doctor's office, with his nurse closing the door after leaving the room. The doctor motioned towards the two chairs on the other side of his desk, and asked Sheila and Ira to take a seat. Nodding their heads, the Rosenberg's sat down and then asked Dr. Evans what he had found out from Willow's blood tests and physical examinations.

"There's a lot of things we need to talk about," said the doctor as he put his hands on the table and leaned forward, "Willow.. Willow's been through a lot, both physically and mentally. Wherever she was being held was.. was bad."

"How bad?" asked Ira as Sheila held onto his hand tight.

"Before I continue," said the Doctor, "do you have anyone you could talk to, or…"

"Doctor, please," begged Ira, "I'm a mental health professional, and my wife is one of the foremost oexperts on child development s0 we know people who can help Willow mentally. What.. what we'd like to know is.. is how is she? Physically?"

The doctor looked at the couple with sadness in his eyes. A part of him didn't want to show them the pictures in the file, and another part of him really didn't want to show them the strange things he had found during their X-Ray and examination of her body. But it was something that they needed to know, despite all his senses saying that it was better it the Rosenberg's didn't know the truth.

'But they could find out, eventually,' thought the doctor as he opened a folder to his left. He then took out some of the polaroid pictures, the back of which were facing the couple sitting across from him. He frowned at them, before sighing and then extending his hand that held the pictures towards Ira.

"When Willow came in," said the doctor as Ira and Sheila looked at the pictures in shock, "one of the first things we did was take pictures of everything. I.. I know you've only seen some of the scars on her body and… and under the lighting when you found her… well, it wasn't clear then. At least not until she was brought here… not until we cleaned off the blood that she was covered in. And ost of the scars are covered thanks to what she's wearing now, and like I said… those you've only cought a glimpse of."

"When the nurses were bathing her," whispered Sheila as Ira grabbed the pictures, "I saw some of the scars, and the brand on her chest. I told Ira about it, and then we told Willow's friends."

"Oh dear God," said Ira as he and Sheila, who then leaned sideways and her eyes widened as she looked at the scars on their daughter's entire back, abdomen, shoulders, neck, chest, and her legs. Sheila and Ira looked up at the doctor who said that the vast majority of the scars could be covered up if Willow wore long sleeved shorts and trousers. Similar to what she was wearing now.

"Or we could try plastic surgery to get rid of some of the scars," said the doctor as Sheila's hands were trembling as she looked at the pictures, "but that can be dealt with later. What concerns me is that some of those cuts are located in areas where the body's major arteries are located."

"There's a scar over the femoral artery," said Ira as he looked at a picture of Willow's leg, before looking at the picture of her neck, "the jugular vein and… oh God."

"So… so this means that whoever took her had a doctor with them?" asked an outraged Sheila, "they.. they cut my daughter and… and what? They took her blood and… and Oh God.. Ira?"

"They cut her and then sewed her back up?" asked Ira as he tried to hide his anger.

"It would appear so," said the doctor, "and whoever these… monsters had with them must be really good. Honestly, Willow shouldn't be alive right now… just the fact that she is.. is a miracle."

"She is a miracle," cried Sheila as she held on tight to Willow's pictures while tears fell down her face, "she is a miracle.. she.. she…"

"We couldn't have kids," said Ira as the doctor looked at him while the man put an arm around his wife and pulled her closer, "that's what we thought. And then Willow was conceived and… and… and she's our miracle."

"I'll be giving all of this information to the police since they've already re-opened her case," said the doctor as Ira held on tight to Sheila who was calming herself down by panting hard, "the blood we collected on her body was hers… there's some blood that we haven't been able to identify yet, but we will."

Ira and Sheila just closed their eyes while nodding their heads. Ira comforted Sheila while the doctor just covered his mouth while his elbows were on the table. He was waiting for the couple to calm down, which took a few more minutes, before he got up, reached to the side of his table and then took out a large brown envelope that had the hospital's logo on the top. He then asked the couple to join him on the other side of the room. After he got up off his chair, Ira and Sheila followed the middle-aged man as he walked towards a table, where he sat down the envelope. He then reached in front of him and turned on a bright white light behind a screen, before turning off the lights in the entire room.

Ira knew what was going to happen, and he was right as the doctor reached into the envelope and took out Willow's X-ray film. He then attached it to the white screen while Ira and Sheila walked closer towards the light source.

And what they saw stunned them to no end.

Ira and Sheila looked at the picture taken of the brand on Willow's chest against the white light, and then looked at the X-Ray film. They saw that parts of the same brand, including symbols, had been etched on her bones; if they looked closely, they could see that the individual marks on her ribcage and sternum made up part of the symbol that was branded onto her skin. The doctor then went on to say that without a medical procedure, they couldn't be sure if this was done on her organs as well. He then took out another X-Ray film and placed it in the screen.

"We found this on her shoulder blade," said the doctor as Ira and Sheila looked on stunned. Sheila looked at the pictures in her hand, and found the picture of the brand that was on Willow's shoulder blade.

And then she looked at the screen with her husband, the both of them stunned with what they were looking at. Willow's shoulder blade was etched with a circular brand, completed with the various symbols that made up the brand, was on her flesh.

"How.. how is that possible?" asked Ira while Sheila could only shake her head.

"I'd say that whoever took Willow, did surgery on her to etch those symbols onto her bone… but,"

"There's no incision, or…" Ira couldn't finish what he wanted to say as he stared at the X-Ray film while holding his hand over his mouth in shock.

"All I know is that these symbol look like something out of the occult," said the doctor as Sheila and Ira stood transfixed at the X-Ray film, "I mean… it's what I'd expect from a horror movie so… I'm not a police detective but its possible whoever took Willow wanted to use her as some form of…"

"Sacrifice?" asked Sheila.

"These symbols, the cuts, the whip marks, and the fact that your daughter by all rights should be dead?" asked the doctor as he turned on the lights to his room, "you are aware of the rumours about this city."

"We know about the rumours," said Ira and Sheila, referring to stories they had heard of the supernatural and the occult occurring in Sunnydale. But it was something they didn't believe was true, although their opinions were starting to change from what they were looking at.

Ira and Sheila could only watch as the doctor packed the X-Ray film into the envelope, and then handed it to them. As he did, he looked straight into Ira and Sheila's eyes and said that he recommended they take Willow out of Sunnydale. Ira and Sheila looked at each other before thanking the doctor for his recommendation. It was a few minutes later that they left his office. The two of them then walked silently down the hallway, each thinking about what they had just learned while holding onto each other's hands, to the elevator which would then take them to Willow's floor.

 **Willow's Room, 1005 hours.**

Buffy had been hugging Willow, with Xander gently holding onto her shoulder while the young white haired woman sobbed. That lasted for a few more minutes before Willow whimpered, making Buffy and Xander move back slightly. Willow wiped her eyes before looking at the both of them, and then at the bedsheet.

"Cray… on," whispered Willow as she drew a pattern on the bedsheet with her finger.

"You remembered?" asked Xander as he sat in front of her. Willow looked up with eyes that were red from crying, and tilted her head before looking back down. Xander smiled before gently reaching for Willow's hand. He brushed his finger on her skin, and the young woman quickly jerked it back and whimpered. Xander pulled his arm back immediately and apologized, "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear."

Willow didn't know why, but the voices of Xander and Buffy calmed her down, as did Sheila and Ira who now made their way into the room. Willow looked up from the bedsheet and gave Sheila a small smile while Ira placed the envelope containing the X-Ray film and the pictures of Willow's scars on one of the cots. While Buffy moved to one side so that Sheila could sit next to Willow.

In the meantime, just as the door to Willow's room closed behind Sheila and Ira, Anya had just headed out of the washroom and was heading for the waiting room a short distance away. She frowned when she walked in on a young woman hugging Joyce, who then saw the vengeance demon. She then introduced her to the young woman she had been hugging, Cordelia.

"Oh, so you are…" Anya didn't even get to finish what she wanted to say when she noticed the man next to her, the man who was talking to Faith and Jenny. Her hands stated to shake as her vengeance demon senses started to blare, and she saw the man for what he really was… a demon.

"J.. Joyce," Anya gulped as the man turned to look at her, followed by a grin on his face, "Joyce… go.. go… get… get out and.. and call…"

"Anya?" asked Joyce, who was about to move towards the shaking young woman.. but stopped when she heard a guttural voice from the man that Cordelia had introduced as Brian Orzan.

"A Vengeance demon," said Brian as he licked his lips.

"Brian?" asked a confused Cordelia. She then gasped and stepped back when he looked at her, and his eyes turned red, "no…"

"Oh yes," grinned Brian before he looked at Faith who was ready to fight when Anya hissed that he was a hell spawn, a high level demon.

"Call Giles!" yelled Anya as she ran into Brian, using her strength to push his back while watching Cordelia grabbing a hold of Joyce and then running down the hallway. Soon, Anya felt a pain on the side of her head before he hit a hall. She fell onto the floor as Faith leapt onto Brian, who simple swiped her to the other side of the waiting room as other people got up off their seats, and ran away from the fight.

Faith hit a wall and then fell onto the floor while Brian ambled towards Anya, and then grabbed her hair… and pulled her up. Anya gave off a scream before whispering that he loved the taste of vengeance demons, and that he'll be bringing her with him when he take Willow back to hell.

"I'm here for my 'It'," hissed Brian as Anya's eyes opened wide in horror as Brian whispered some of the things that were done to Willow, and what would be done to her, and the Slayers.

Back in Willow's room, Ira was standing at the foot of her bed with his hands in his pockets and whispering, "another friend of yours dropped by. Do you remember Cordelia?"

Willow simply shook her head when suddenly there was the sound of screams, followed by the sounds of glass breaking, thuds, more screams, and more thuds coming from outside the room. Xander and Buffy looked at each other when they heard Faith shout "Leave!", followed by the sound of glass breaking again. Just as Buffy was about to make a move after telling Xander to stay with a worried Sheila, Ira, and Willow, there was a thunderous sound from right outside the room just before the door was smashed right into the room.

Sheila and Ira screamed just as Buffy and Xander got up off the bed. They saw the heavy wooden door smash into the wall before fall down onto the two cots where Sheila an Ira had been sleeping. And then they heard a gasp as a body flew into the room, and was smashed against the wall.

"Anya!" yelled Xander as he saw the young woman hitting the wall with a crack before she fell unmoving onto the door. Xander knew it wasn't possible that Anya was dead, he knew that she was still a Vengeance demon as he ran to the young woman who was lying still. He reached down for a pulse and sighed in relief at finding it, and at Anya groaning in pain. It was then that Xander noticed a man walking calmly into the room with a black suit and red tie. He looked up at the man's red eyes, and the smirk on his lips. Xander saw him turn his head towards Willow, and give out a wide grin.

"Hello, my It."

TBC.


	25. Chapter 25

**Sunnydale Mercy, Outside Willow's room.**

Tara ran out of a hallway and made a turn to her left before gasping in horror at the destruction in the waiting room. She ducked into one of the adjacent rooms and called for security before heading out once again for the waiting room. Once entering, she saw broken glass everywhere, and bodies of two men in the hallway who looked as if they had been literally slammed into the wall. Trying to keep her breakfast down, Tara then heard the sounds of footsteps running behind her. She turned around to see an older blonde woman, and a dark haired woman running towards the waiting room along with Cordelia.

"Stop, Stop," said Tara as she ran towards them and blocked their way. She could feel her skin crawl as a chill went up her spine. Tara looked back over her shoulder, and knew that the demon she met was close by, she could sense the darkness just spilling out of the room that had the broken door. She then turned to Cordelia and the others just as three security officers ran past them.

Tara knew what they were about to do. She could hear the three women telling her to move to one side just as she screamed 'no!' at the security officers who ran into the room. It was then that Tara felt a surge of dark magic.

'Demonic.. demonic magic,' thought Tara to herself just as she heard gun shots. She screamed at the three women to run the other way, as well as at the nurses who were heading to the room. But they didn't listen, it was too later for the nurses as they entered the room. Tara then used her body to push the three women away from the room, but it was too late.

The entire front section of the room, including the door frame exploded outwards. In that split second, Tara had already wrapped her arms around the three women in what looked like a group hug. Except the debris, the plaster, the wood, the glass, the human body parts of the security officers and the nurses hit a barrier that surrounded the four of them. Cordelia, Joyce, and Jenny looked on with eyes wide open at the blonde who was whispering something in Latin, while her eyes were shut tight as debris kept on hitting the barrier.

"It's done," whispered Jenny as Tara opened her eyes and looked at her. Tara could see surprise in the aura's of all three of the women in front of her, but there was no sign of disgust coming off them like she thought there would be. There was no fear, just curiosity.. and it made Tara wonder what was going on with the three of them. It was when Jenny spoke again that Tara looked down nervously at the floor, her hair coming down her face, "are you a witch?"

"I… I…" Before Tara cold finish what she wanted to say, they heard a blood curdling scream coming from inside the room as a man's body was thrown out the hole where the entrance to the room once used to be. Tara heard Jenny call out for Xander, whose body was heading through the shattered windows of the waiting room. It was then that Tara looked on in surprise as a young, bleeding woman appeared out of nowhere and let Xander crash into her. Tara's eyes opened with in disbelief when she saw the woman's demonic aura before Joyce, Cordelia, and Jenny ran to the two of them.

As did Tara after a few seconds of being rooted to the spot in surprise at their concern for a demon. However, she immediately heard the voice of her mother in her mind telling her to help them. That it was her duty to help them, even the demon.

So Tara ran to the five of them.

She asked them to step back while she crouched down to check on Xander and Anya's pulse. Sighing when she found pulses, just barely, for the both of them… she looked up at Jenny and asked if she knew about magic.

"Yes," said Jenny.

"So you know that the woman," said Tara while nodding at Anya, "she's a demon?"

"She's a vengeance demon, her name is Anya," said Jenny as Tara looked on in surprise. But that lasted for a few seconds before she lay her hands on the two unconscious young people. Tara looked up and said that she'll try to heal the major injuries through magic.

"But I'm afraid that…."

"Do what you can… ummm…."

"Tara, Tara Maclay."

"Do what you can, Tara," said Jenny as she nodded her head before noticing movement to her left. She and Joyce looked at Cordelia putting her hands on the sides of her head, and shaking it in disbelief. Joyce saw the tears in Cordelia's eyes growing, and she remembered what Brian… what Borzan told them.

"I… I… Oh God, what have I done!" cried Cordelia as Joyce rushed to her and hugged the girl who kept on saying 'how didn't I know, how didn't I know'.

"It's not your fault," whispered Joyce as Cordelia sobbed in her arms, "it's not your fault."

While Tara was healing Anya and Xander through magic, she immediately stopped when she heard running footsteps behind her.

"Stop!" screamed Tara as she turned and looked at the security officers. They were almost at the room after ordering her to leave with Joyce and the others. Tara knew that they would die if they went into the room once again, so she came up with a reason for them to fear going in, the only excuse she could come up with in the last second, "the guy has a bomb."

"Everyone out," yelled one of the officers as he and the others slowly pulled back.

"These two are injured," said Tara as she discretely used her magic to continue healing Xander and Anya, "get me something to remove them… move!"

While the officers went to get help to move Anya and Xander without hurting them, Tara and the others stayed put.

 **Willow's Room, two minutes earlier.**

Willow started to whimper and shake her head as she shimmied back on the bed. She cowered in fear as she heard the footsteps walking into the room. She closed her eyes and hoped this was all a dream, that it wasn't him.. that it wasn't the one who took so much pleasure from watching her get tortured in Hell.

The one who took pleasure in torturing her himself.

"It?" asked Sheila as a man with brown eyes, a black suit, and a red tie walked in with a smile. The humans looked down at the groaning female being held by the collar as he dragged her body into the room.

"Faith!" yelled Buffy as Xander stood up.

"Uh uh uh," said the man as he shook his finger at Xander, "don't even think about it. I'm here for my 'it'."

"It?" asked Ira, "What.. what are you talking about? Who are you? And why… why are you coming after Willow?"

"MY name is Brian Orzan, I have a talent agency in Los Angeles," said Brian as he flung Faith against a wall while looking at Willow who was cowering and sobbing, giving off small screams of fear, while Sheila was holding onto her, "but I'm better known as Borzan, a lieutenant of Acathla. As for why I'm here, little man… I'm here to take what is mine. It."

"Her name is Willow," said Buffy who glanced at Faith who looked back at her through eyes that reflected her pain, while nodding her head, signifying she was alright.

"Ah yes, Buffy Summers," said Borzan with a smirk, "the Slayer… or should I say, a Slayer. You've seen that I've taken out Faith. Ah Faith, she would have made a terrific pornstar… ah well, that could still happen where I'll be taking the both of you. Anyway, back to the issue at hand, Buffy, taking you out will be easy too, and then I can play with you, It, and Faith. So much fun to be had."

"Xander!" yelled Buffy as she glared at Borzan while hearing the white haired young woman behind her sobbing and crying out in fear. She told Xander to leave the room and check on the others, the blonde Slayer rushed at Borzan with a punch while telling Sheila and Ira to leave with Willow… that she'll cover them.

"You think I'm just a normal demon?" cried Borzan who moved faster than Buffy had seen any demon move before. He blocked her punch, grabbed her by her neck and then lifted her off the floor.

"Buffy!" yelled Xander as he ran towards Borzan. The demon simply grabbed Xander's head when he was close enough, while still looking at the struggling Buffy, who was kicking out at him with all her strength to no avail. Buffy then saw Borzan flinging Xander against the back wall, the young man hitting it hard and then groaning as he grabbed his left arm after falling onto the floor.

"Ca… call Giles," said Buffy struggling to speak, "go… go, Xan…. Xander."

As Xander was about to leave for the door, three security officers rushed in with guns drawn out. They pointed it at Borzan, who was still grinning at Buffy. Sighing, he then flung Buffy hard against the wall, and grinned as she fell onto the floor next to Faith, who was already trying to get her body off the floor. Ignoring the two Slayers for now, Borzan turned around just when the officer told him to freeze. Smiling, Borzan raised his hand at the three security officers who fired, just as three nurses ran in behind them.

"Goodbye," grinned Borzan with Willow screaming in the background, just before he unleashed an invisible blast. Everyone looked on in horror as the officers and nurses got shredded apart just before the front entrance to Willow's room exploded. It was then that, while Willow was screaming as Ira and Sheila were holding onto her, Xander quickly got up and rushed Borzan. The suited demon turned and punched Xander in the gut, and then in his face before grabbing his collar.

"Xan…der," groaned Anya, whose body was wracked with pain. She opened her eyes slowly just to see Borzan punching Xander repeatedly as blood dripped to the floor, "no… no.."

Concentrating her powers, Anya saw Borzan fling the injured and bleeding Xander out of the dust filled room. She saw the dust beginning to settle as Xander was sent flying through the exploded entrance, and Anya teleported. Ending up in front of him as a human cushion, Anya was knocked out as well before they both fell onto the floor.

Back in the room, Borzan wiped his jacket off the dust and blood, laughing that he needed to change. Frowning at the entrance, the demon then looked at Willow who was whimpering in fear while Ira and Sheila were holding onto her. He then looked at Faith, who was groaning in pain as she helped Buffy stand up. Tilting his head at the Slayers, and then at Willow… Borzan took a step forward.

"Stay… stay away from our daughter," begged Ira as he shielded Willow and Sheila. And in turn Faith was gently pushed away by Buffy who was rubbing her head. Faith ran to the front of the bed, and pulled Ira back, and then took his spot before raising her arms.

"My, my," chuckled Borzan as he stopped and watched Buffy limping towards Faith, the blonde telling Ira and Sheila to take Willow out of the room; that they would provide a distraction. Borzan laughed before telling Ira and Sheila that they weren't going anywhere, that he had the power to kill all of them but he was giving Willow a choice. Borzan called Willow 'It', the young woman whimpering in fear as she glanced over at the suited man, "It.. you either come back with me alone, or I kill everyone here… well.. not kill but maim… anyway, they'll be alive and ensouled. Just like you were, but they'll be here. If you refuse, which I really hope you do, then I will kill them all… and take them with us when we go home."

"I… I don't understand," said Sheila as Willow started to sob while holding tightly to her mother, "why.. why are you calling Willow 'it', and…"

"She is an 'It'," said Borzan, his eyes turning red, "she is nothing, and her screams were such music to my ears and.."

"You took her away from us," said Ira, "you… you took her, and tortured her.. and…"

"Torture?" chuckled Borzan, "oh you have no idea… but then again, she tortured humans herself."

"Willow?" asked Ira as she looked at his daughter shaking her head while she was screaming and rocking her body back and forth. Ira then glared at Borzan and was about to run at him when Buffy stopped him. She didn't know was Borzan was talking about when he said Willow tortured humans as well, and a part of her didn't want to know. What she did know, was that all of them were in danger… and her responsibility was to get Ira and Sheila, along with Willow, out of there.

"Mr. Rosenberg," said Buffy as she looked back at the man, "you need to…"

Before Buffy could finish what she wanted to say, she felt herself being flung into the ceiling, while Faith screamed before attacking Borzan. The dark haired Slayer was flung to a wall a few seconds before Buffy fell to the floor, the blonde Slayer using her arms to break her fall as she hit the hard floor. In pain, Buffy looked at her sister Slayer who was lying on the floor against a wall, groaning in pain while holding onto her left arm. Buffy then heard footsteps that walked past her, and looked up while tasting the blood that was in her mouth at Borzan stepping calmly over her body while Sheila screamed at Borzan to stay away. Buffy slowly got up, only to see Borzan grabbing Sheila by the hair, and picking her up. And with his other hand, Borzan picked up Ira by his collar.

Buffy could see Willow shaking her head as Borzan stepped back.

Her body wracked with pain, Buffy screamed as she rushed towards Borzan. She grabbed the side of the bed, and kicked out at the creature. While her leg was injured, Buffy still managed to connect her feet to Borzan's body. The impact threw him back against the wall next to Willow's head while Ira and Sheila were dropped onto the floor. Winching in pain, after landing on the floor with her injured leg, Buffy shouted at Sheila and Ira to get out of there just as Borzan grabbed the shaking Willow. He picked her off the bed with one hand, and then flung her against the wall next to the window. He then picked up the bed, and then Buffy and Faith got everyone to duck as he threw it towards the entrance to the room.

As Buffy and Faith, who had just gotten up, were trying to take Sheila and Ira towards the entrance, Borzan sped in front of them. He told Buffy and Faith that he wasn't done with his fun yet. He punched Buffy, causing her to land on the floor while Sheila screamed.

"No more chances," growled Borzan as he picked up the screaming Sheila by her head, and then smashed her against a wall with a sickening crack. Borzan laughed as he released Sheila's body, which fell onto the floor as Borzan laughed and walked away. The demon was then attacked by both Buffy and Faith once again.

Willow heard the crack, and stopped whimpering as she looked at Sheila's unmoving body looking back at her. She heard Ira screaming in anguish as he ran to his wife, while hearing the sounds of Buffy and Faith fighting, followed by grunts and the sounds of crashing as Faith was slammed into the floor, followed by Buffy.

"Sheila! Sheila!" yelled Ira as he cradled her body while Willow looked on, her eyes opened wide in horror. Father and daughter looked at each other, and tears gathered in Willow's eyes. She felt something rising in her throat as she received flashes in her mind of Sheila feeding her, playing with her, and comforting her when she was a child. She remembered Ira carrying her when she went to the doctor, she remembered Ira kissing her cheeks. Willow remembered all the times that she was left alone… she remembered her housekeeper, she remembered a ball of white light, she remembered her parents coming back, with herself running over to them.

The shock of looking at Ira crying with Sheila in his arms made her remember. She knew the woman, and she knew the man.

"Mommy?" croaked Willow as she released a sob while covering her mouth, "mommy?"

"Don't worry, It," said Borzan as he walked towards Ira who continued to look at Willow, even as he was being picked up into the air by his collar, "you'll see them again when I take them to Hell."

"D… Daddy," said Willow as she shook her head. She knew who the man was… her father. She remembered that she was born to the both of them. She remembered that they had their issues, but at the end of the day.. they loved her. And she loved them; but Willow was terrified.. she couldn't move her body, it was if she was made of lead.

She didn't know what to do.

"Will…. Will…" groaned Buffy, who was looking at the white haired young woman while laying on the floor, and shifting her eyes to Willow's left. The white haired young woman turned and looked at the fallen side table, and then at the gold coloured badge that lay on the floor. Confused, she looked back at Buffy who had already passed out just as she heard a squishing sound, followed by a crack. Turning her head towards Borzan, Willow's eyes were open in terror as she watched Ira's body… a hole in his abdomen, fall onto the floor, followed soon by a section of his spine that Borzan had ripped out.

"Da… daddy…" whispered Willow as she looked at the body of her father, "Da… daddy…"

"It," said Borzan as he licked the blood off his arm before he leaned down and grabbed the unconscious bodies of Buffy and Faith, "I gave you the choice to come alone, or come with them. I guess you'll have company when I start torturing you back…"

"No," croaked Willow as she shook her head, her voice just a whisper as she started to remember a life she didn't think was possible, "no… no… no more."

"It's too late," said Borzan as Willow looked up and saw Buffy unconscious, while Faith's legs were flailing all over the place. Willow saw that Faith was gasping for breath; the white haired young woman looked into the dark haired Slayer's eyes and saw them continuing to shift towards the badge. Thinking that it was important, Willow scampered on her hands and knees towards the badge. Once she had it in her hand, the young woman had another memory flash of battling a giant Sphinx with an old woman.

"Once I've killed these two," said Borzan as Willow looked up at him with the badge in her hand, "all five of you are coming with me."

"No," said Willow as she slammed her right hand into her left, and pressed into the badge. Once hearing the click from the object, Willow pulled her head back as the Series Five Implant activated. The Alpha radiation in the badge was channelled to the implant before Willow's synapses started to fire at a great rate of speed. Willow felt something that she hadn't felt before, or at least she thought she hadn't felt before; power. She felt power as she stood up and glared at Borzan while gritting her teeth and growling. She looked at the man's wrists which just broke when she thought about it. Borzan smiled as his wrists hung limply while Faith and Buffy fell onto the floor.

"There you are," said Borzan as he took a step forward, "I've seen your memories of this part of you… and now I know how to activate it. I cannot wait to taste your flesh when you have this power in you and…"

"Kill," hissed Willow as she felt swirling energy gathering around her fists, "I… kill… you…, you… die."

"Good luck," screamed Borzan as he leapt at Willow. Willow instinctively knew she could gather more power, and that's what she did. Nearly on top of her, Willow raised her arms out in front of her as the energy gathering around her fists grew in intensity. Screaming, Willow then released that power in one go as an energy blast burst from her fists, and hit the creature in his chest mid-air, the force of the blast strengthened by Willow's hate, anger, sorrow, and regret over the deaths of her parents. Borzan was slammed through the wall, and he fell into the hallway outside just as Joyce and the others took cover. Exhausted, Willow fell onto her knees, and then she looked at the unmoving body of Borzan through the hole before she released a sob, and skittered on her hands and knees to the bodies of Ira and Sheila.

While Willow was cradling the bodies of Sheila and Ira, her hair covering her tear stained eyes and cheeks as she sobbed, Borzan sat up in the hallway, and then got onto his feet. He looked down at his chest and saw his skin was scorched and peeling off.. revealing black flesh underneath. Slowly standing up, he looked behind him and saw that three nurses were helping Tara and the others secure the injured Anya and Xander on gurneys while the security officers dashed in front of them and held out their guns. They were afraid to shoot in case the man was hiding the detonator for the bomb on his person since they couldn't see any sign of a bomb on him.

"Stay away," said Cordelia as Borzan smiled at her. He waved his hands and slammed the officers up into the ceiling as Jenny, Joyce, Tara, and Cordelia jumped back. Borzan then slammed them onto the floor hard; Tara was able to see their aura's being extinguished while she tried to gather some magic.

"Cordelia," cooed Borzan, "my sweet, sweet Cordelia. I wanted to take you with me to see 'it'."

"It?" asked Jenny, her voice shaking.

"It," repeated Borzan as he looked over his shoulder at the sobbing Willow, and then back at Jenny who realized who he was referring to, "I'll still be taking her back with me to Hell. And you four as well… I will stand by laughing as 'It' tortures all of you."

"No," said Tara as she fired a bolt of white energy that hit Borzan in his chest, and he was thrown back.

Enraged, Borzan quickly got up as the four of them were about to run for safety. He raised his hand, and the four women rose into the air while grabbing their throats. Tara and the others were flailing their legs as they struggled to breath for air; they felt invisible hands around their necks tightening even more.

Tara was trying to concentrate and gather magical energy, to no avail, when she heard the sound of running footsteps. She looked behind Borzan as a man in a black coat ran into the hallway and immediately turned towards Borzan. Tara could see that the man was covered in a black aura with a ball of white light in the centre, and the only through in her mind was that she was looking at a soul… a soul surrounded by darkness. Jenny tried to shout just as Tara watched the man pull back an arm that was gripping a sword; they saw Borzan turn around at the last moment to see what was happening, and his eyes went wide open when he was stabbed through the chest with the sword.

It was at that moment that Tara and the others fell onto the floor gasping for breath as Giles, Althanea, Lily, and Doyle rushed into the hallway.

"Jenny!" cried Giles as he ran past Borzan who had taken a step back while clearly in pain.

"Angel?" asked Lily.

"Check on Willow, Buffy, and Faith," said Angel as he pulled the sword out of Borzan's chest while Althanea ran past him and helped Joyce, Cordelia, and Tara stand up. They turned around to see Angel stab Borzan again. Screaming in pain, the creature fell onto the floor, a pool of black blood spreading out onto the floor beneath him.

"H… how?" rasped the creature.

"This is the other sword that was blessed by the Knight that defeated Acathla," said Angel as he looked down at Borzan, "after Willow was sent to Hell, Giles returned days later to retrieve the second sword, since there was already one stabbed into Acathla's statue. Giles kept it with him… he didn't know if we would ever need it again. But I guess we're lucky that he did… Doyle saw that you were going to attack, so we made our way here. I guessed that the blessed sword could take anyone from Acathla's dimension down. And I guess I was right."

"I… I…" said Borzan as blood came out of his mouth. Angel ripped out the sword from Borzan's chest, and then swung it back down, decapitating Borzan as Tara, and Joyce looked away.

"It's over," whispered Angel before he looked back through the hole in the wall behind him. He heard Willow sobbing as Althanea crouched next to her, while an injured Buffy and Faith were being held up by Doyle and Lily respectively. Angel and Buffy looked at each other, with the latter then looking sadly at Willow who was holding on tight to her dead parents while Althanea was comforting her.

'My fault,' thought Angel to himself as he looked away from the back of Willow's head. He didn't know what happened, but he knew that it was still his fault. His actions concerning Acathla had brought them all to this place, and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

'I'm so sorry, Willow.'

TBC.


	26. Chapter 26

**Sunnydale Mercy, Willow's Room,**

Willow was panting as she sobbed while cradling both bodies of her parents. She looked through tear stained eyes as the images of Sheila and Ira, lying on her lap, blurred in front of her. Blinking her eyes, she felt the tears go down her cheeks, and the images cleared up of the older redhead just looking out into nowhere. Willow then looked down at the older man lying on her lap with his eyes wide shut, but his mouth was still open in shock. Then Willow looked up and saw the blood on the floor; Ira's blood, as well as the section of his spine that was torn out. That section simply lay on the pool of blood a few inches away; a drag mark that indicated where Willow had pulled the older man to her, she wanted him close.

She wanted her father close.

She wanted her mother close.

More memories erupted in her mind as she sobbed louder while she felt a hand on her shoulder. But the white haired young woman didn't care about who that hand belonged to, and she didn't care about the two young women who were being held up by another young woman and a young man.

Willow didn't know them. At least not yet… her memories of them hadn't returned yet. She did recognize the injured blonde from her dreams and nightmares, but Willow didn't care about who she was.. not yet anyway.

She didn't care because her parents were just murdered. Willow looked down at Sheila and Ira's bodies as footsteps ran down the hallway behind her. She heard the woman next to her shouting at the nurses with the gurneys who were attempting to come into the room through the hole in the wall, to stay back.

At least for now.

"Doyle, Lily," said Althanea as she looked up at the two people who arrived from Los Angeles, "take Buffy and Faith outside. Get them to the nurses."

"But…" said Faith as she looked at Althanea, and then at the sobbing Willow; and her heart broke.

"The both of you are injured," said Althanea in a tone that left no room for any kind of argument, "I want the both of you to see a nurse now. Get checked out, you two have been badly injured. Now go."

"Will," whispered Buffy turning to looked at Willow who was still looking, with her head down, at her parents, "I'm so sorry."

Seeing Willow make no move to look up at her, or at Faith, Buffy whispered that they're going to be there for the young woman. That they weren't leaving her alone.

In reality, Willow barely heard what Buffy had said, or what Faith had wanted to say when she opened her mouth.. but closed it when she felt she didn't have the right to say anything since they weren't close. Willow hadn't really heard what Althanea had said either; all because her heart was thundering in her chest, and her sobs where overloading her mind. Willow thought to herself that she had spent an unknown number of years in hell, and she didn't know who she was, or what she did to get into hell in the first place. All she remembered was the torture, and deaths… all of her deaths. She remembered the pain, and the sorrow, and her anguish at being punished for something she didn't even recall.

Willow had lost herself, she knew her spirit was broken, and her mind was fractured.

But when she had come back, Willow felt different. She felt as if there was something pushing inside her trying to force itself out. And then she remembered the blonde girl and Xander, but she didn't know who they were, and why they were important. And then she remembered Sheila and Ira just before their deaths and what they meant to her, she remembered who they were after pressing down on the badge.

They were her parents; and now the white haired young woman felt as if a part of her died. She was an orphan now. And that made it even worse for Willow as she leaned down and screamed in anguish while Althanea wrapped her arms around Willow's shaking shoulders. Giles, Jenny, Joyce, Buffy, Faith, Lily, and Doyle looking at the back of the white haired young woman from the hallway. Only Angel wasn't there, he had taken the decapitated head of Borzan, and went into the sewers thorough a cover in the basement of the hospital.

He was going to head back to the Crawford Street mansion, and conjure up some living flame to burn the demon's head. There was something in Angel that said Willow didn't want to see him, but it was that part that also reminded him that Willow was safe now.

'She has a long road ahead,' thought Angel to himself as he ran through the sewers, 'but she'll recover. She'll be alright, she has to be alright.'

 **Initiative Headquarters, Lowell House, U.C. Sunnydale Campus, 1100 hours.**

Riley was frowning as he stood in the hallway of Stevenson Hall outside Buffy and Faith's dorm room. He had been knocking on the door for the past ten minutes, eagerly waiting to hear their explanations in regards to how they were capable of what they had done last night. HE still remembered their super-strength, and proficiency in weapons.. and couldn't help but think that perhaps they had been trained in the military.

'But they're too young,' thought Riley as he looked nervously at the door before turning and putting his hands in his pockets. He headed for the stairs that lead down to the lobby, reminding himself that it was possible the both of them had classes, 'they have psychology in three hours, I'll see them there anyway. But it would have been nice to talk before that… at least get an idea of where they were trained. Or how they did what they could do.'

The young man was pulled out of his deep thoughts when his beeper went off once he put one foot on the top stairs. He looked at the beeper, and his eyes narrowed. The small screen had the code reserved for an immediate emergency, an attack by a creature that his organization.. the Initiative, called an HST. Riley frowned, and then ran down the stairs as quickly as possible; making his way to Lowell House.

It was nearly twenty minutes later that Riley was standing next to his junior Agent, Graham Miller.. a man that Faith had shown some interest in a few nights ago when there was a party hosted at Lowell house, and Agent Forrest, a dark skinned young man who was standing with his arms across his chest. The three of them, along with a few others in tactical vests and weapons on their hips, were listening to a briefing from their leader.

Professor Maggie Walsh; a psychology professor at U.C. Sunnydale, and Faith and Buffy's professor.

"Ten minutes ago," said Walsh as she pointed at a television screen to her left which showed a news report of several police cars outside the hospital. Riley and the others could see a SWAT team gathering in one corner of the screen while he listened to Walsh, "there was a major HST incident at Sunnydale Mercy hospital. At least that's what we believe. Watch."

Riley and the others looked on as another screen activated, and they saw a colour video recording of various people entering the hospital entrance. There was a blonde woman hurrying inside, and a few seconds later, there was a couple who rushed past the camera that was pointed at the entrance. Riley was about to ask how Walsh knew that an HST was involved, when suddenly the man that belonged to the couple that had just rushed past stepped back. They could see the woman had stopped, but she was just out of range of the camera. Instead, the man smiled at the camera, and then his eyes shone red. The Agents who were standing there then looked on as the picture broke up; Walsh told them that the camera's that this creature had walked past would all deactivated.

"We know something happened," said Walsh while she shut off one monitor, and then pointed her fingers at the screen that showed the news report, "we intercepted reports of a blast, of people dead, and here is the most interesting part… we have reports of blood on the floor that appears to be black in colour, and the head is missing."

"You want us to retrieve the body, ma'am?" asked Riley.

"Yes," replied Walsh, "whatever this HST was, it was dangerous. Meaning that an equally dangerous HST took it down. I want the body brought back for analysis, and then I want everyone interviewed. Riley, Forest, Graham, you three have been given authorization, and a fake background as Agents of the FBI to speak to anyone on that floor. I want to know everything, and if you feel that any of them… and I mean any witness has been infected by this HST, then bring him or her back. It that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Riley nodding his head. He then looked at his junior Agents, and ordered them to find some suits.

 **Sunnydale Mercy, Willow's room, five minutes later.**

Willow felt her arms being lifted away from her dead parent's bodies, and all she could do was let them. She was tired from everything that happened to her, she was tired from crying, from being attacked, she was just tired. She could only look down at her parents faces, looking up as they were loaded onto gurneys, and then rolled past her. She then looked down at the blood on her left hand, her father's blood, and then she looked at her dry right hand; the place where her mother's body used to be.

She then looked at the ground; and all she felt was emptiness. Taking a few deep breathes, Willow slowly started to hear the sounds around her; shouts of men outside telling everyone to get down, that they were something called a SWAT. Willow then saw the woman next to her being pushed down to the floor, and then she felt a hand on her back pushing her back down.

Suddenly Willow felt a wetness on her cheek. It was sticky, and warm, as she closed her eyes. She watched black boots walking around her, and the room, searching for something with their weapons raised. She heard Althanea screaming at them that this was Willow's room, and they had just pushed her into the blood of her own parents. It would be minutes later that everyone would be allowed back up, and Althanea immediately wiped the blood off the left side of Willow's face.

"You're home, Willow," said Althanea gently as Willow just stared at her, "do you remember me?"

Willow closed her eyes and tried to push her memories forward. There was something that told her she knew this woman, but the white haired girl couldn't remember her.

"Get me a wheelchair, now!" yelled Althanea as one of the police officers passed by while others were questioning Buffy and the others about a mysterious shooter, and a bombing. The officer that had pushed Willow down earlier brought a wheelchair through the hole in the wall, all the while apologizing for what had just happened. Ignoring him, Althanea gently asked Willow to trust her, that she was just going to help. Willow looked at her hands, and then up at Althanea. She looked at the kindly eyes before slowly getting up, and then she was wheeled out of the room and into the hallway where the police were talking to Buffy and the others. From Willow's perspective, she didn't know what the people meant to her; and then she caught sight of the young woman with the blonde hair.. it was the same one she had saved from the monsters they first day she had found herself outside her cage.

Tara had just finished talking to the officers when she noticed Willow looking at her. She nodded at the officer who took her statement that there wasn't a maniac with a gun, and she thought she had seen someone… particularly the headless man lying in the pool of blood in the middle of the hallway, holding a bomb.

But she was mistaken. The officer walked past her to Giles, and it was then she looked at Willow.

She saw the same anger, and sorrow in those eyes, but now there was loneliness. Tara then looked at Althanea who turned to the left and travelled down another hallway, the white haired young woman all the while was looking at her, before looking away. Tara looked back at the people around her, and noticed that there was a hooded figure who had just walked into the hallway. Curious, Tara walked past Buffy and the others who were still talking to the police, and followed the figure dressed head to toe in white. The blonde witch could see that she was looking over her shoulder, her hood obstructing her face, while continuing to walk. Tara was about to say something when she vanished, in front of a door. Confused, Tara ran to where the figure vanished, and looked around until she heard a voice to her left.

"Can I help you?" asked Althanea who was wheeling Willow back against a bed. She then walked around the young white haired girl, and then pulled up a seat and sat down next to her. Tara saw that the older woman rushed off to the restroom, and then immediately come back with a few towels. She then sat don't while gently holding Willow's hand, and then wiping the blood off her face with the others hand. All the while, the white haired girl was just looking out into space and tilting her head slightly to the side. Tara could see that Althanea was ignoring her, putting all her focus on cleaning off the blood. Once the last bloody towel was on the floor, Althanea leaned in and whispered something to Willow before turning to look at Tara who was still nervously standing, "You alright?"

"I'm sorry," said Tara as she held her hands together and took a step forward, "I just thought I… never mind. She… she saved my life last night and.. and I just wanted to know if she was alright since… since she was the… I mean it was her room that was attacked and… is she alright? Oh.. I.. I'm sorry, my.. my name is Tara."

"I'm Althanea Pierce, Tara…. I'm a nurse here and… wait a second," said the older woman as she narrowed her eyes at Tara, "I've seen you around here, haven't I… I mean.. you work here?"

"At re.. reception," said Tara as she looked at Willow. She waved at Willow before pointing over her shoulder and saying that she needed to go back to work. It was then that Althanea noticed something, Willow shifted her eyes over to the blonde who was about to leave, and then her eyes shifted back down as Tara said her goodbye one more time.

"Listen," said Althanea as she looked at the blonde, "can you come by after you finish work? I'll get her into a new room and… look, her life has been hard. Very, very hard… you can't imagine. She just needs someone different around her.. .maybe that's what she needs and… and you said that she saved your life. You're still a stranger to her, but you still came by to make sure to check up on her so… please, just come by later?"

Willow glanced over at the older woman next to her, and sensed that she knew what Willow had been through. And the only thought that was going on in her head was, 'how did she know?' Willow then looked down at the hand that was holding gently onto her own, and then she looked at the floor. Willow listened to Althanea telling Tara that she had a reaction when she was about to leave; and that it would be nice if Tara came by later on. It was something that Willow agreed with… she didn't know why, but Tara had a calming effect on her. After everything that had just happened, Willow felt calm even though she felt herself dancing on the edge of going into a complete meltdown.

While Tara nodded her head before leaving the room, Althanea could feel Willow's hand tighten, and hoped that she was doing the right thing. She looked at Willow still staring off into space as she stroked the back of her head.

"I know you're still a minor," whispered Althanea as she held Willow's hand tight, "you'll be eighteen in six months and… and we'll do everything to make sure that you stay with us. Willow, when you turn eighteen, I want to take you to the Devon Coven, with me."

Willow turned her head slowly to look at Althanea who already had tears in her eyes, tears that she was wiping away.

"I should have stopped you from being Nighthawk," whispered Althanea, "the first day I met you, I should have told you to stop. But I could see how eager you were to learn your powers, how eager you were to learn magic. I'm sorry."

Althanea held the back of Willow's head with her trembling hands, and chocked back a sob.

"I'll talk to Rupert, Buffy, and the others," said Althanea, "we can start your recovery out of the Hellmouth. The first step would be repairing your mind and your psyche. Then I will bring you back so you can continue here. But it's your choice. Do you understand me? Squeeze my hand." Althanea smiled when Willow squeezed her hand, leading the older woman to tell her that she'll talk to Giles, "I can only guess that you're confused about what's going on, Willow. We'll help you get your memories back, and we'll get you back to who you once were and… and we'll be there the whole way."

Willow then glanced at Althanea, and squeezed her hand one more time.

TBC.


	27. Chapter 27

**Initiative Headquarters, under Lowell House, Lab 314.**

Walsh had just walked into the secured room where her chief scientist, Dr. Francis Angleman, was working over a figure underneath a white coloured cloth. She closed the door behind her, and pulled until there was a click which made Angleman look up at her with a smirk on his face.

"How's my Adam?" asked Walsh as she nodded at the hint of black hair, pale skin, and a glint of silver from behind the cloth, "are we on schedule?"

"We're just missing a few parts," replied Angleman as he looked down at Adam's still unfinished body, and then looked back up at Walsh while draping the cloth of Adam's body. He then walked around the table that Adam was lying on while taking off the gloves he was wearing, and then throwing them away in a bin labelled with the biohazard logo, "I take it you found something?"

"Two possible HST's," said Walsh with a smirk while she strolled to the doctor who was now leaning against a counter, "both seen to be pretty powerful. One entered Sunnydale Mercy and caused what reports have claimed is an explosion."

"With abilities like that," said Angleman as he pointed at Adam's body, "in Adam? Then he would be unstoppable."

"Something of equal power stopped him," said Walsh as Angleman furrowed his eyebrows at the thought of what he and Walsh could do with two powerful HST's, "I've already sent Forrest, Graham, and Riley to investigate, question witnesses, and then retrieve the body. I intend to find who it was that killed this thing as well, and I have a feeling that it would be there. In the meantime, I want you to have equipment ready for testing this thing's blood… it's unlike anything we have ever retrieved before."

"How so?"

"The blood was black," said Walsh while Angleman nodded his head while rubbing his chin, "I want some of the blood tested here, and the rest sent to our emergency site. Something this powerful, I want us to control it."

"The Council at the Pentagon will want to know about this," reminded Angleman.

"They'll get their weapon," replied Walsh before she looked at the covered body of Adam, "and maybe we'll get to use the cloning technology we recovered and create a brother, or sister, for Adam."

Angleman and Walsh just smiled before heading out of the lab, the male scientist turning the lights off before closing the door shut.

 **Sunnydale Mercy Hospital, 1120 hours.**

Walking out of the elevator in their suits, Riley, Forrest, and Graham walked down the hallway and immediately noticed the damage around them, and the blood on the walls. They then walked past a room where Willow was sitting on the bed and simply looking out the window at the sunlight. Riley just glanced into the room while Graham and Forrest continued along the hallway. He watched the white haired girl then look down at the bed, before looking out the window once again. Just before following his colleagues further down the hallway, Riley glanced around the room and caught sight of a young man and woman just standing nervously, while leaning on a wall; and a young ark haired woman who came out of the restroom and walked to Willow's bed before sitting down next to her.

'It she that actress? The one from… nah, just someone who looks like her,' thought Riley to himself before shaking his head, and then continuing to walk past the door. It was then that he saw Graham looking back at him in surprise, before looking back at the destroyed waiting room and hallways that were littered with debris from two destroyed sections of a hospital room, and then they saw the pool of black blood on the floor, the stench of flesh burning still lingering in the air, as well the stench from the black blood.

But it wasn't that which surprised Graham and Riley. It was seeing Faith and Buffy, both of whom were injured, being questioned by some detectives along with a few more people. Riley looked at Graham, shaking his head and silently signalling to his friend not to say anything in from of Forrest. Riley could see that Buffy and Faith hadn't seen them yet, and that they were busy answering questions that the detectives had; so he turned to Forrest and whispered an order to check the morgue for the body.

"Have a retrieval unit meet you down there," whispered Riley while Forrest nodded his head, before looking around at the damage that was done around them, and then rushed down the walkway they had just come through. Riley and Graham then noticed the woman that Forrest passed by she was carrying a cup in one hand before walking into the room that they just passed; the room with the white-haired girl.

"No sense in both of us being outed," whispered Riley as he nodded towards the room with the open door, "the room that woman just went into, it's close enough to this one for her to have felt something or…"

"Graham?" asked a familiar voice as the aforementioned name closed his eyes and winced. Turning around, Graham looked at a confused Faith while Riley looked at Buffy; and then Faith.. both of whom knew that he wasn't who he said he was. And he was about to lie again.

"Detectives," said Riley after he sighed and nudged Graham, silently telling him to follow his lead, "Agent Riley Conners of the FBI."

"Agent Graham Andrews."

After Riley and Graham put away their badges and identification, something which made both Buffy and Faith frown at the two men, they told the detectives that this was a federal matter now. The detectives were about to say something, but riley interrupted them that their commander would have received paperwork that their investigation was being taken over. Although the detectives weren't happy, they trudged away with one of them, a female, telling Buffy that she was glad that everyone was safe.

"Thanks you, Detective Kennedy," replied Buffy as she nodded her head. The blonde Slayer watched the woman walk past Riley and Graham, not looking at them, and then down the hallway. She saw Detective Kennedy hold on to her partner's arm, and motion towards the hallway.. silently telling him to go on ahead. While Faith put her hands on her hips, and asked Riley and Graham why they were at the hospital, Buffy saw the female detective head into Willow's room. Buffy then shook her head, and turned to both Riley and Graham who was the open to speak.

"Faith, the question is what are you…"

"Are you a part of this thing where you fight demons?" asked Faith glaring at Graham; it was a comment that made Graham shut his mouth, and then look at Riley who rubbed the side of his head while telling Graham that Buffy and Faith saw him last night when he was in the clock tower fighting the Gentlemen.

"What were you two doing there?" asked Graham looking back at both Faith and Buffy. He then looked at Faith, stepped forward, and gently reached for, and placed his hand on her arm, "I mean… are you okay? Were you kidnapped or…"

"Buffy? Faith?" asked Giles who introduced himself, Joyce, and Jenny, to the two newcomers. He then turned back to the two Slayers and asked what was going on, "how do you know each other?"

"Riley and I are kinda… dating," said Buffy as she looked at Joyce who narrowed her eyes at the young woman, silently asking her why Buffy never said anything to her.

"Hi, Mrs. Summers," squeaked Riley, suddenly nervous as he waved at Joyce. Sensing that his friend's nervousness was shining through, Graham nudged Riley with his elbow. That nudge brought back Riley to reality as he couched before telling Graham that Buffy and Faith were helping him fight the demons, much to Grahams surprise as he looked at Faith.

"Don't let this body fool you," smirked Faith, "I can kick ass."

"Except for today," said Buffy as she looked at the black blood, and then at Willows destroyed room. Shaking her head, she then stared at Riley and asked him once more what he and Graham were doing at the hospital, "oh wait, let me guess. You two are part of some secret military thing that…."

"Shhh." Panicked, both Graham and Riley while they were waving their hands about and looking around to make sure that there was no one within earshot.

"Are you part of these secret military teams that we've seen around Sunnydale?" whispered Giles as he took off his glasses and stared at them with a serious look on his face.

"Not too secretive, are you?" said Jenny with an eyebrow raised.

"Losing your touch?" asked Faith, "I think I remember a few of you last Halloween."

"Faith, Buffy," said Giles shaking his head before stepping forward until he was at their side, "Riley, Graham, I don't know what the military's role is in this… thing, the both of you are a part of… but what I can tell you is that you have no idea what you're doing."

"You came here to….?" Asked Joyce, her voice trailing off as she looked at them curiously.

"Our orders are to investigate the reports of a blast," said Riley while Graham sighed, before glancing at Faith and nodding his head as Riley continued to speak, "we're supposed to interview all witnesses, and examine the body of the HST."

"Fancy name for demon?" asked Buffy, with Riley sighing and nodding his head.

"G-man is right," said Faith, "do you know what kind of a demon that thing was?"

"We just…"

"That demon kidnapped a friend of mine a year and a half ago," said Buffy. She didn't want to tell Riley and Graham the truth, primarily because they basically revealed that this secret organization was trying to get demons and people with supernatural abilities. While the last part was just an inference on Buffy's part, she was sure that it was true and with what happened to Spike… the blonde Slayer guessed that one of the jobs of this secretive organization was to experiment on the supernatural. So she and Faith, as well as Giles and the others, told Riley and Graham their cover story.

"She escaped from him, and we got her back last night," said Giles, "and today, he returned to take her back. He murdered her parents in cold blood, and injured two people very dear to us, before Buffy and Faith put him down permanently."

"We're sorry about your friends," whispered Graham, "but…"

"You know what you need to know," said Buffy looking at both of the men in front of her. She then settled her eyes on Riley, and sighed, "look, Faith and me? We're Slayers."

"That's a band," said Graham.

"No, no," Giles shook his head before telling Graham and Riley that Buffy and Faith were Vampire Slayers, "if you deal with the supernatural, you must have heard of them."

Judging from the looks of confusion on both of their faces, Buffy and Faith looked at each other, and then at Giles.

"You know," added Buffy looking back at Riley, "the girls who hang out at cemetery's."

"The Chosen Two?" asked Faith motioning towards herself and then at Buffy, "ring a bell?"

"Can't say that it does," whispered Graham, as people walked past them, while Riley looked at the hole in the wall next to the blown out entrance to the room.

"So the blast.. and the hole?" asked Riley nodded at the two gapping sections of the wall discretely.

"The door was blown out by the demon," said Buffy.

"Me and B got mad at the demon after it killed Red's parents," said Faith, "we threw him through the wall, and then killed him. We're having a friend burn the head."

"Faith," said Graham, "you can't…"

"You don't know what you're dealing with, Graham… Riley," said Buffy as she looked at the two of them, "we do. So, stop. Please."

"We have something planned for every contingency," said Graham, "and we know what we're doing, Buffy. The Initiative has been doing this for a long time."

 **Sunnydale Mercy Hospital, Willow's new room, at that same time.**

While Buffy and the others were continuing to speak with Riley and Graham, Cordelia was looking at Willow who was looking out the window at the bright sun-lit sky. Cordelia leaned forward and gently touched Willow's hand, the white haired young woman snapping her head towards her.. and tilting it with confusion sewn on her face. Willow then turned to look at Althanea who was taking a sip of coffee, while a steaming cup of hot chocolate stood on the side-table for Willow.

"She's Cordelia, Willow," Althanea gently said, "she was.. is an acquaintance of yours."

"We weren't best pals or anything," said Cordelia before she closed her eyes, and then silently cursed herself for not being careful about what came out of her mouth. Opening her eyes once more, Cordelia sighed and told Willow, who was looking at her with her eyebrows furrowed, that they had known each other for a very long time, "since middle school. We were in the same classes all the way through high school and… and the rest doesn't matter. We know each other, Willow."

Cordelia knew that she and Willow hadn't been the greatest of friends, in fact… she was the one who usually led in bullying the former redhead. But in the state that Willow was in now, Cordelia couldn't bring herself to admit that to her… she didn't want to cause any further damage.

"I'm just glad you're back, Willow," said Cordelia before giving Willow a warm smile. Willow just looked at the smile on her face, and then just looked down at the bedsheet and closed her eyes. She then had a flash of a younger version of Cordelia making fun of her hair, her clothes, and even her shoes. Looking back up, Willow couldn't reconcile what Cordelia was saying in the present day with her memories; however, deep down, Willow knew that there was more to be revealed from her memories about the young woman in front of her.

For right now though, all Willow felt was a chill up her spine from the young woman in front of her. Then, as if reading her thoughts, Althanea told Willow that she and the Coven had a plan to help her regain the memories that she lost.

"You'll get them back," said Cordelia just as Riley and Graham strolled past the door. It was a few seconds later that Buffy and Faith walked through the door, followed by Jenny and Joyce… two of whom still hadn't seen Willow. They were stunned at how the former redhead looked, and approached her slowly while Cordelia got off the bed to let Joyce take a seat.

"Willow?" asked Joyce as she gently held her hand while sitting down, as Jenny stood next to her and placed her hand on the white-haired young woman's shoulder.

Willow looked up at her and Jenny after looking down at the bed sheet, and then she snapped her head to the closing door. She looked at Giles, the old man in her dreams back in hell, as he slowly strolled towards her after putting on his glasses. She could see his hand, as well as his lower lip, trembling before he coughed. Willow heard a crack in his voice when he called her name, but Willow simply looked away and closed her eyes when she had a memory flash. She remembered the older man in a room full of books, she remembered him alongside Buffy in a graveyard, and then she remembered hugging him with tears in her eyes.

"I'm scared, Giles," Willow remembered saying between sobs.

"I'll do everything I can to bring you back, Willow."

Willow's bottom lip trembled as she remembered Giles stabbing her through the heart as she rubbed her chest. Willow instinctively knew that he had no choice, that there was a reason she had to die… but she couldn't figure it out. She remembered him being pushed away by Buffy as she fell into her arms. Willow remembered the blonde screaming at her as tears streamed down her face, telling her not to go. She then remembered her vision going dark while feeling herself being pulled towards something while she stared at Buffy. Willow could feel the stone floor scrapping her torn clothes and part of her bare back while Buffy was being pulled along with her. Willow remembered the last thing she saw before everything darkened was a dark haired man, and Giles pulling Buffy away. She felt them tear the Slayers fingers and then her arms away, and then… before the end, Willow saw the anguish on Buffy's face as she screamed and reached out for her.

And then there was darkness. And when Willow opened her eyes again, she was in the room in hell.

"Willow?" asked Giles as Willow's body shuddered while she was seated in the bed, "I.. do.. do you… remember me?"

"Said… bring.. back," whispered Willow while she was wiping her eyes and then looking down at the bedsheet, "I… I… don't… know…, I… remember… I.. I don't… why? Who… you?"

"You don't know us," said Althanea as Willow nodded her head, "but you're starting to remember, aren't you?"

Willow simply nodded her head while continuing to look down at the bedsheet.

"Daddy, mommy," whispered Willow as Doyle and Lily looked at each other before looking back down at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Willow," said Cordelia gently while she stroked her back gently.

"Was… was… gone," Willow struggled to speak while her mind was racing, sorting through a trickle of memories that were coming back, "I… Oz? Where… Oz?"

"OZ is…" Buffy was about to say something more, but Willow interrupted her by looking up in anger, "Will?"

"Killed… Oz…," hissed Willow as she glared at Buffy; Willow was having a memory flash of the time she screamed at Buffy back at the High school… telling her that she was responsible for Oz's death and that she should be happy that Angel was getting a reward. The truth was that Willow's memories were coming back out of order since she didn't know Oz, but at the same time she knew that she had feelings for him. Feelings that manifested itself in rage as she thought that Buffy was the one who killed him thanks to her disconnected memories, "you… killed…"

"Will," said Buffy just before she was slammed against the wall by an unseen force. Willow growled before pushing away both Cordelia and Joyce, who fell onto the floor as Willow launched herself from the bed and lunged at the blonde Slayer who was pushing herself off the wall that she had been slammed into. Just as Faith, who had been stunned at the turn of events, was about to move.. Willow had her hand around Buffy's throat as Jenny picked up Joyce, who begged Willow to stop. The white-haired young woman could hear Giles' voice telling her to stop, she could hear Jenny and Joyce, and even Cordelia, but she couldn't stop as she glared into Buffy's eyes. Willow gritted her teeth as she concentrated on tightening her grip on Buffy's throat. Time seemed to slow down for Willow as she remembered her torture victims in hell, Willow remembered what she did over the hundred years to make the humans suffer.

Willow remembered that a part of her eventually enjoyed it.

And she felt that same enjoyment now as Buffy gasped the white-haired young woman's name. Willow saw Oz's face in her mind; she didn't know him, but she felt the feeling she had for him. She remembered their first kiss, she remembered holding hands as time slowed further and Willow pushed Buffy into the wall as her mouth opened.

"Will…" cracked Buffy, "I… so… sor… sorry."

"Willow!" yelled Giles as Faith intervened three seconds later and pushed Willow out of the way. Willow stumbled on the floor as Faith put her hand up and asked Willow to stop, just as Doyle went over the bed and, along with Cordelia and Jenny, held Willow back as she struggled to rush towards Buffy.

"Kill… you…" growled Willow at Buffy who gently pushed Faith to one side while rubbing her throat, "kill you… I… kill… and…"

"Sleep," said Althanea as she waved her hand, and Willow closed her eyes and her body went limp. It was then that Joyce and Lily rushed to Buffy, who was telling them in a broken voice that she would recover.

"We need to make sure that Willow's okay," said Buffy after re-assuring Joyce that she was going to be alright.

"I thought that we could do this after her eighteenth birthday," said Althanea as she watched Giles, and Doyle place the sleeping Willow on the hospital bed.

"Do what?" asked Giles.

"I'm taking her to the Devon Coven," said Althanea as she ran her hand through Willow's hair while looking down at her now peaceful face, "we can help her recover her memories properly. I think she's getting fragments of her memories back, which may explain why she thinks that Buffy killed Oz."

"Technically I did," said Buffy before taking a long glance at Doyle and Lily, "I should have killed Angelus then, and we wouldn't be in this mess."

"If you did," said Lily gently, "then he wouldn't have saved all the people he did."

"Let's agree to disagree," said Faith waving her hands before turning to Althanea and asking her to continue. Buffy sighed before looking away from the newcomers, and then to Willow while Althanea told them that she wanted to wait until Willow was an adult since she was technically an orphaned minor. And none of them were her legal guardians.

"Unless you know something I don't," said Althanea as she looked at everyone who shook their heads, "I know I can have someone from the Coven come here, but with the Hellmouth… I'm not sure how effective it would be to do what we need to do. I want to take her far away, away from the Hellmouth so that she could recover."

"For how long," asked Buffy as she leaned forward and brushed her fingers on Willow's cheek after walking around the foot of her bed. The thought of losing Willow again right after she came back was causing a pain in her chest, "Althanea, how long?"

"Anywhere between a few months, to a few years," said Althanea as Giles shook his head, "you all know she's been in hell for a long time. At my personal estimation, at least nine hundred and fifty years… and that's just me being conservative. She experienced a lot down there, enough to make her forget who we are, and perhaps who she is. Add to that the torture that she had to endure… the pain she endured… Buffy, It's enough to break anyone's psyche. It's enough to shatter someone's humanity. From her perspective, she's been there so long that she's just forgotten."

"And does the Coven have a way to help her?" asked Jenny.

"We can," said Althanea, "we can make her whole again but… but the old Willow we knew is already gone. Whoever comes back will, hopefully, know all of us… but she won't be the Willow we once knew. You need to be ready for that."

"She'll remember all her trauma," added Faith as she looked at Willow. The dark haired Slayer knew that her life was horrible, but when compared to what Willow must have seen and experienced in hell; her experiences were nothing.

"Yes," replied Althanea.

"I can ask the Council for help," said Giles, "Wesley and I haven't told them about Willow's gifts, and we still won't. But we need their help in getting Willow out of the country legally, they have resources we don't. They could help with the legal guardianship and…"

"They'll still want to question her about her time in hell," said Jenny, "and who knows what else they'd do."

"Remember what they did to me, Giles," said Buffy as she reminded him about her Cruciamentum, "we cant have them get their grubby hands on her. If you ask them for help, then they'll want something in return."

"And it will be Willow," whispered Joyce.

"I'll talk to Sheila and Ira's lawyer," said Giles, "and then we'll find out if I can get appointed as her legal guardian."

"You should go now, Rupert," said Althanea, "I want Willow out of this city as soon as possible. And… and I'm sorry but she'll probably miss her own parents' funeral. So please… go."

Giles nodded his head before he rushed out of the room. As he was walking out of the hospital lobby a few minutes later, he failed to notice a white van parked near a side entrance. In that white van, Riley and Forrest were helping Graham and two others load the headless body, that was in a black body bag, into the back of the van.

While Giles entered his car and drove off to talk to the deceased Rosenberg's lawyer, the white van drove off a few minutes later and headed for the Initiative.

TBC.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N:** I will be taking a break for about two months, at the most. There's some real life stuff that I need to take care off that's been weighing me down while writing these stories, and I'd like to get them out of the way ( I thought I could do those, and write these stories at the same time; but my other personal stuff has been suffering). The first being writing another draft of a research proposal for admission to a few PhD programs, and the second being learning SAP and Data Management techniques in a course at the local university. I hope you guys understand the need for this break, and I will get back to uploading the newest chapters at the end of the two months. Any further updates will be on my profile.

 **Crawford Street Mansion, 1200 hours.**

Unable to get to the Magic Box, the local magic shop, Angel sat on the couch that remained in the mansion since the last time he occupied the mansion. He stared at Borzan's head, with its eyes closed, which was lying on the floor on its side. The ensouled vampire wanted to get rid of it, but the only way he knew to burn it to nothingness so that no ash, or bones, remained was to use living flame.

And to do that he needed access to ingredients. Once he arrived, and dumped the head onto the floor, Angel wen to the basement and brought out some of the items he thought he needed. Now, to get the rest of the items, he needed to wait until nightfall. He knew that with Borzan dead, Willow, Buffy and Faith were safe; and that they would be able to take over looking after the white haired young woman at the library.

He didn't want to show his face just yet since he feared what Willow would say to him. He hadn't thought about what he did to Willow for a few months. It was always at the back of his mind, just as the memories of all the horrible things he had done as Angelus. But bring back in Sunnydale brought that back to the fore. He knew that he managed to keep his mind distracted while they were researching the demon that Doyle had seen in his vision, but now that the demon was killed; Angel remembered all those memories. He placed his forehead into his hands while he heard Willow screaming, and then she was sobbing. He heard, and saw, everything he did to her as Angelus and hated himself.

And Spike was maniacally telling him so last night when they were researching the demon. Angel was surprised that Spike was in chains, much less alive. He remembered Giles telling him, while holding him back from dusting the immobile vampire, that they needed him for information on a group of commando's that had placed a chip in his brain.

"He's harmless!" yelled Giles at Angel while he and Doyle pulled him away, while Lily and Althanea just stood to the left while their hands were in their pockets.

"Look who's back," grinned Spike who was chained to a chair, "Angelus. Come to see your handiwork."

"Spike!" hissed Angel as he vamped out. It was then that Althanea strode towards Angel, grabbed his arm.. and in a moment of anger that Giles had rarely seen from the woman, growled that he needed to calm down; that Willow, Buffy, and Faith needed his help to survive what Doyle had seen in the vision.

"And we don't have time for your squabbles, is that understood?" demanded Althanea who was glaring into Angel's eyes. The ensouled vampire stopped himself before he could say anything, and instead just simply nodded his head. Althanea then let go of Angel's arm, and took in a deep breath before standing back.

"You think you'll ever be forgiven by these bloodbags?" mocked Spike, enjoying Angel's unease, "you had Dru torture the librarian, and then you tortured and ra…"

"That's enough from you," whispered Althanea as she waved her hand, and Spike became silent. Angel was smirking at the vampire who was panicking as he moved his lips, but no sound was coming out. The Vampire the glared at Angel and screamed a silent scream, he then mouthed words that he was sure were expletives at Althanea, Lily, Doyle, and then at Giles who was sighing while fixing his glasses.

Althanea glared at Spike, and then turned her head towards Angel, "we go to work, find out what we need to know about this demon, and then we kill it. Is there a problem?"

"None," answered Angel looking at Althanea. He then glanced behind her at the now silently screaming Spike, who was trying to break the chains that were magically enhanced. He then looked back at Althanea and said, "thank you for the silence."

"Let's get to work," the Witch calmly said as she walked past Angel.

Back in the present day, while looking up at Borzan's head, Angel imagined the pain that Willow must have been in when she was in Hell. But he just couldn't imagine the immense amount of pain no matter how hard he tried, it was just too much for his mind to process. One thing he was sure of was that Hell's magic kept Willow young; he knew that she spent centuries down there, and any normal human would have died out by now.

Shaking his head, Angel got up again and paced around on the floor. All he could do was wait. Everything in him that used to scream 'go see, Willow. Beg for forgiveness' was now silent. Angel was afraid that she would never forgive him.

'Not that I deserve it,' thought Angel to himself while he rubbed his forehead. Stopping his pacing, the man then glared at Borzan's head, 'at least I can protect her, I can have vengeance on her behalf by destroying the head of this demon.'

Angel then looked out at the brightly lit sky, and then back at the head of Borzan.

'Just a few more hours.'

 **Crawford Street Mansion, 1700 hours.**

Just sitting on the couch with his mind elsewhere, the ensouled vampire shook his head when he heard voices that were coming down the stairs, and then headed towards the front door. He could make out Lily and Doyle's voice, together with Giles and Buffy. The four of them were headed towards the front door as Angel stood up. He put on his jacket, and then picked up his car keys before heading for the door as it opened.

"Angel," said Buffy as she looked at the ensouled vampire.

Angel noticed her facial muscles tensing, doing their best to hide her anger, and he didn't blame her.

"Buffy," came the reply. He wanted to take a step forward and hug the blonde Slayer, that's what happened the last time he hadn't seen or heard from Buffy in the summer just before her Junior year of high school, when she went to LA to visit her father. He remembered how broken she was after the Master's death, and then they finally came together a few days later… after she destroyed the Master's bones; and just hugged. He remembered the closeness they had, but that was gone now as he stepped back.

Angel turned to Giles and told him that he was about to head out to the Magic Box to get some ingredients, since he wasn't able to go out earlier. He asked Giles and Buffy to stay with the head until he got back before turning to Doyle and Lily, asking the both of them to pack up the laptop and books back into the car.

"We're leaving?" asked Lily surprised while Doyle frowned, and both Giles and Buffy looked at each other.

"Buffy, Faith, and Willow are safe," said Angel while Buffy looked away from him, and at the severed head lying on the floor. Buffy then looked back at Angel, and was about to ask him if he wasn't going to apologize to Willow. But, as if he was reading her mind, Angel told Doyle and Lily that he didn't think that Willow would even see him.

"Much less remember you," said Giles fixing his glasses.

"After what happened to me?" Buffy finally opened her lips while she was rubbing the front of her neck, "I think she'll kill him… oh, maybe that's a good thing?"

"Buffy," said Giles.

"Why'd did she attack you?" asked Angel.

"She's getting her memories back out of order," replied Buffy after she sighed, and then put her hands into her trouser pockets, "she blames me for Oz's death.. thinks I killed her."

"But I did," said Angel nodding his head while looking away from Buffy.

"Yeah," replied Buffy, her hands now on her hips, "and you want to run away like a coward, Angel. Face up to her and…."

"You think I don't want to go to her, and get on my knees, and beg for forgiveness?" asked Angel while Buffy glared at him, "I remember telling Dru to go after Oz, I remember her coming back me with his blood on her lips and tongue. I remember everything, Buffy… I know it's my fault. I take the blame for that, for taking Giles, and for…. For everything I…."

"You tortured and raped her!" yelled Buffy, her voice reverberating through the stone walls while Giles looked away, "you…. you… and you want to run away?"

"When I saw her through the hole in the wall at the hospital," whispered Angel as he looked down at the floor while Buffy was panting. He couldn't stand seeing the rage and betrayal in Buffy's eyes since his heart was breaking at the thought of her hating him even more than he already did, "I remembered everything. Her screams, Giles' screams.. telling me to get away from her. I remember doing things to someone who always saw the good in me. How can I face her again, Buffy? I thought I could.. and… and what do you think she'll say and…"

"Like I said," repeated Buffy before she turned and was headed past Giles, and to the door, "you're a coward. Get out of my…"

"Buffy," said Lily, her voice begging the Slayer to stop and listen, "Angel told me what he did to Willow."

Buffy's hand was already on the door handle as her body froze.

"Angel feels.. I mean there's no word to describe how he feels about what happened… he knows what he did was the ultimate betrayal," said Lily while she approached the blonde Slayer, and then placed a hand on her shoulder, "but do you really want Willow to remember what he did to her, in her current state? You saw what happened, Buffy… her mind is fragile right now. If she sees Angel…"

"She could really break," said Angel softly as Buffy closed her eyes while Giles whispered that they were right.

"Her mind is broken, but slowly repairing itself," said Giles, "but seeing Angel would bring those memories back and… and it could shatter her psyche. We could lose her, Buffy. And this time for good."

"Fine," said Buffy as she turned and nodded at Giles. It was then that Giles, Buffy, Lily, and Doyle went back to Giles' car so that they could head back to his apartment and pack up the laptop, and the books they brought over from Los Angeles. In the meantime, Angel drove over to the Magic Box and gathered all the ingredients he needed to create the living flame. It would be a few hours later that he, Giles, Buffy, Jenny, Lily, and Doyle watched as the blue coloured flames rose up into the air while Angel was chanting a spell. He then bent down, picked up Borzan's head and the threw it into the fire.

Everyone jumped back when the head opened it's eyes and screamed. The scream was reverberating through the while room as the skin melted off the bone. The scream faded as the entire head caught fire, and then the fire was gone.

As was the head.

There was nothing that remained, not even ash. It would be thirty minutes later that Angel and his team left Sunnydale. Before leaving, he told Giles that he'll continue to help people in Los Angeles.

"And if you ever need anything," whispered Angel while glancing over at Buffy who was sitting in Giles' car with Jenny. He looked back at Giles and continued, "I'll come running."

"This is going to be a difficult situation for everyone," said Giles while Angel nodded his head.

"I don't expect you to forgive me for anything, Giles," said Angel, "but I am sorry for everything that's happened. Especially with Willow losing her parents."

"I have already spoken with Ira and Sheila's lawyer," said Giles as Angel accompanied the Watcher to his car, "we'll be going to court tomorrow so that we can have Willow placed under my guardianship."

"She needs stability now," said Angel nodding his head.

"Althanea suggested taking her to Devon," said Giles, to which Angel agreed, saying that it was better that Willow was taken away from the Hellmouth. Giles continued after nodded his head, saying that, "it would help with her recovery. Althanea believes that the coven could help her regain her memories in their proper order, and repair her psyche, thus making her whole again."

"But she won't be the Willow we knew," whispered Angel.

"No, she would not be," said Giles as he reached his car, "but we believe she will adapt. For now though…"

"I'll stay away," replied Angel, "I'll come if you need me, and if Doyle gets another of his visions."

Giles nodded his head before Angel turned around and walked towards his own car where Lily and Doyle were waiting. It was time to leave. All he could do was silently wish Willow a quick recovery, and made it a point to keep in contact with Giles on how she was going along. He wanted to wait until she was fully recovered before making his presence known to her.

Or if she finds him after her recovery. Either way Angel knew that there was a lot to talk about with the young woman.

 **Sunnydale Mercy, Willow's room, 2000 hours.**

Tara nervously walked through the hallway after getting off the elevator towards Willow's new room. She looked around at the repairs that had already started, and then at the black stain on the floor where Borzan's blood had pooled earlier. She then walked towards the nearly destroyed room and noticed the holes were covered by large plastic sheeting. Tara then turned to another hallway, and walked a few steps down before arriving at a door.

Giving a soft knock while holding onto her bag, Tara wondered if she was doing the right thing by coming to this particular room.

'We're strangers,' thought Tara to herself as she stepped back, 'she saved my life and.. and there's something about her that's so angry, but sad. Shaking her head again, Tara told herself that she was just here as a person who wanted to thank the person who saved her life. Smiling as Althanea opened the door to the room and stepped back, Tara told herself not to say anything. She wanted to tell the woman that maybe it was a mistake, that she was still a stranger to the white haired young woman.

But then Tara remembered Althanea telling her that Willow needed a stranger around her, someone that she didn't know. And all Tara could now wonder was.. why?

"Thank you for coming, Tara," said Althanea as she closed the door behind Tara, and then led her to a curtain that was already pulled forward. Tara looked at the table, and saw the boxed food, and a large bag at one end of the couch which some clothes peeking out. The blonde witch then asked Althanea if she was staying in t he hospital, to which Althanea nodded her head. She then told Tara that Willow's friends had been ordered home to rest, that she could tell they were exhausted.

"I know it's a big ask," said Althanea in her English accent as she slightly pulled the curtain that separated Willow's bed from the rest of the room, "but could you just stay with her?"

"I just don't understand why," asked Tara as she looked at the sleeping Willow. The blonde could see that Willow's face was peaceful as she slept under a blanket. She went to the sleeping girl, and stood next to her bed with Althanea standing next to her. It was then that Tara felt goosebumps on her arms, so she glanced over at Althanea and knew… from that reaction, that she was standing next to a witch. Tara could feel the magic that was coming off her.

"You… you're a witch?" asked Tara as an impressed Althanea nodded at her.

"Jenny, Joyce, and Cordelia did say you protected them with a shield," replied Althanea, "but the reason I asked you here is the same as before. You don't know Willow, and I think that's for the best… she could have someone to talk to about certain details of her life when she returns."

"When she returns?" asked Tara surprised, "what do you mean?"

"I know I asked you to come by," said Althanea who suddenly felt foolish, "I wanted to ask you to be a sort of therapist for her. And I know you're going to say that you're not… but when you came into the room earlier today, I felt Willow's reaction to you. She was calmer, and it felt to me as if she didn't have the burdens that I… that her friends and I know she carries."

"If… if you don't mind me asking," said Tara as she looked back at Willow's face, "where is.. is she being tak… taken to?"

"Have you heard of the Devon Coven?" asked Althanea as Tara's head snapped back towards her with eyes wide open.

"The Coven of White Witches?" asked Tara, her voice stammering with awe, "you… you mean… I mean.. is Willow… Willow's a…"

"She's complicated," said Althanea, not wanting to tell the truth about Willow, Niko, or the whole Halloween incident, "but she would need someone to talk to when she gets back. You know about magic, you know.. I'm guessing everything about the supernatural."

"Somewhat," replied Tara as she looked at Willow, "I read in the paper that she was kidnapped. So… so I'm guessing that the demon that attacked us took her away?"

"That story was a lie," whispered Althanea as Tara turned her head back at the older woman, "what happened to Willow was much worse. Look, perhaps I was wring in thinking that you shouldn't know the truth until you talk to her… but, but maybe you need to know what you… what we'll be dealing with. Willow… was… was sent to Hell."

"What?" asked Tara, her voice reaching a high pitch before she covered her own mouth with her hands. She then lowered her voice and asked, 'what' again.

"To us it was one and a half years," said Althanea as she walked to the left side of Willow's head and brushed her white hair, "but to her… it was over nine hundred and fifty years."

"Goddess," whispered Tara. And then she remembered the anger, the sorrow, the anger, and the madness in Willow's eyes the first time they met, "it… it…."

"I can't imagine the torment that she went through there," whispered Althanea "all I know is that her memories of us are fragmented, and something like what she experienced damaged her psyche."

"Her humanity is there too," whispered Tara as Althanea glanced back at her, "when I was attacked by the demons, she could have left me there. I mean she could have killed the ones attacking her, and left me to die. But she didn't."

"And she didn't harm her parents," said Althanea, "that's my feeling too on her humanity."

"How was she sent to Hell?" asked Tara, "I mean… why?"

"That's a story for when she's recovered, Tara," replied Althanea, "are you willing to just talk to her? I mean once we get back? It'll help if she talks to someone she's comfortable with.. like I said earlier, and she's comfortable around you. Even though you two don't really know each other."

"Yes," Tara nodded her head vigorously, "I'll do it."

TBC.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N:** Had this done halfway after finishing the previous chapters. So thought I'd finish it before going on my hiatus. I hadn't partially completed Out into the Light, or A New Life, after the previous chapters. So new chapters for those stories would be coming back at the end of my two-month hiatus. Cheers.

 **Acathla's Hell.**

Tara looked around at her surroundings while she covered her nose from the stench of rotting flesh among the rising flames that were all around her. She squinted, trying to keep the heat away from her eyes, as she stared at the screaming bodies that were impaled into tall, sharp, wooden stakes which were set on the ground. A ground which was warm, and orange. Looking up from the ground, Tara saw demons flaying some of the bodies on the stakes, while others were being bled out from cuts being made on their bodies, and others were being eaten while the body was still alive and screaming out in pain. And all Tara wanted to do was throw up, but it was at that moment when she felt a presence behind her.

Turning around, Tara came face to face with a blood soaked, and nude, white haired Willow. The witch looked into the emerald green eyes of the white haired young woman, and then opened her to gasp, taking in the stench laden air, as Willow's hand thrust forward and grabbed her neck. Tara felt Willow's hand squeeze around her neck, her fingers dinging into her throat while she grabbed Willow's hand and tried to speak. Tara was scratching the arm that was holding onto her… anything to make the young woman release her. Ultimately, Tara was unsuccessful since she felt her larynx being crushed with Willow looking back at her. Willow was giving Tara a cold stare as she set her jaw, without an expression on her face. But Willow's eyes carried everything Tara needed to know; she saw rage, anguish, madness, and hopelessness.

"W… Wi…." rasped Tara as Willow's hands tightened around her throat when suddenly there were demons that crashed into her. Tara fell onto the warm ground as the demons roared, and Willow howled in pain. Looking up from where she was lying on her stomach, Tara watched as Willow gave off screams of pain that witch had never heard. It felt as if her own bones were quaking when a demon grabbed Willow by the throat, and then raised her up with one hand before slamming her back into the ground.

"No!" screamed Tara; but it was too late. Willow's screams had stopped with her head laying at an odd angle. The white haired young woman's eyes were looking lifelessly right back at Tara who was slowly standing up. The young witch then saw the demons tearing apart Willow's body before feeding on her corpse. It was just then that there were flashes of light all around her. Once the lights faded away, Tara stumbled back upon finding herself in what looked like a dungeon with a roaring fire in one corner that had several pokers stabbed into the flames. And then, while rubbing her own neck where Willow had earlier tried to strangle her, Tara looked around horrified at the machines that seemed to exist to only inflict pain on the screaming bodies that were inside them.

"Goddess," gasped Tara as she heard a female sobbing. Turning around after she had gotten up from the red coloured floor, Tara saw Willow hanging in mid-air, her hands were stretched over her head with chains that were attached to manacles around her wrist from the ceiling. Tara didn't understand what was happening. She had seen Willow die with her own eyes, and here she was once again alive, 'unless its Hell itself. It's a place of eternal torment, at least all variations of Hell dimensions are supposed to be. So if she died, and she's alive again… then… then.. Hell must have brought her back to life to suffer.'

Tara walked past the screaming bodies of men and women, all of whom, unknown to Tara, had sold their souls to Acathla's lieutenants on Earth for anything that they wished. She had to jerk her arm from a few who were reaching for her, pleading between screams for help. With tears in her eyes at watching the suffering of the people around her, Tara dashed past them and headed towards the sobbing Willow.

"Willow," said Tara as she looked at the hanging young woman who was swinging back and forth, her body was nude and pale as she looked down at the floor. Tara lingered on her before looking up at the chain, and saw that it was securely fastened to the ceiling of the dungeon. She then looked back at Willow's hanging head, her white hair covering her face while a few teardrops fell onto the reddish coloured floor. Tara guessed that this was the young woman's memory of what she experienced in Hell, or at least part of it. Tara knew that she needed to draw the former redhead out. So Tara started to speak, "you… you attacked me. D- do you remember? I- I think you know I'm in your memory, and… and I think you're lashing out. You're not alone, Willow. I- I'm not a fig- figment of your imagination. Ca- Can you hear me?"

Tara saw Willow slowly raise her head, and look straight into her eyes. Willow's mouth was about to open when she looked up behind the newcomer, while Tara turned around, at the sound of a door slamming shut. Tara then turned around to see Willow's eyes wide open, and her body shaking, upon hearing the heavy footsteps walking towards them.

"Pre- pre- pretty lady," whispered Willow as Tara took a step forward and gave her a small smile. Tara wanted to reach for, and hold, her hand. But given that her hands were chained over her head, it would be impossible. Tara felt uncomfortable in holding onto her leg to comfort her, even if this was simply a memory, "no- no- leave."

"I.. I'm here, I… I'm not leaving," stammered Tara as Borzan walked past her and placed his hand on Willow's hips while staring at her chest which was at his eye level. Tara looked on in horror as Borzan lay a hand on her neck, and then with the edge of his fingers, traced a trail from the nap of her neck, down her chest, and to her abdomen. He then looked up at Willow, who was still looking at Tara with tears in her eyes. The white haired young woman stifled a scream as Borzan grabbed both of Willow's hips once again, which one hand moving up to her upper back, and pulling her towards him.

"I smell your soul," hissed Borzan before a grin formed on his face, "once I have given you the Mark of Acathla, of which I will enjoy your screams; I will take away your pain. No more pain as we tear you apart for your soul-enhanced meat. The greatest gift of all in this place, all in exchange for torturing humans. Let me hear you say it again. Tell me that you want this, tell me or else you…"

"Yes," replied Willow as she looked away from Tara and lowered her head, "will… do."

Tara, for her part, could only look on in horror as Borzan bellowed a laugh before letting go of Willow's hips. But not before pushing her, and then dashing past the white haired young woman who was swinging to and fro. Tara approached Willow, as Borzan was strolling back while carrying a white how poker that he had earlier pulled from the roaring fire. Tara saw the circular glowing end, as well as the symbols that were carved in the circle.

"No," mumbled Tara as Borzan raised the poker over his head, the circular end aimed at Willow's chest. Then Borzan held Willow steady by grabbing onto the back of her neck, he then moved forward.. towards the weeping young woman, before he kissed her. Pulling back as Willow coughed, Borzan looked into her eyes and bellowed.

"You will feel this pain," he screamed, the walls and floor trembling while distant screams of demons and various other human prisoners could be heard, "you will be one of Acathla's jailers, one of his tools of torture. You will kill, maim, destroy their bodies and minds. You will end them, and they will be reborn here… and then you will end them again. You will do this for all time. This brand…."

Borzan looked back at the still white hot poker in his hand, and then back at Willow with a grin on his face.

"It had been placed in hellfire, the mark… the brand, it will be etched on your flesh, your organs, and your bones for all time. Even when you are resurrected…. You will have this brand etched on your chest," yelled Borzan while Tara looked on with her eyes wide open, "you belong to Acathla from now until all eternity… and in exchange for torturing those I bring to you.. I will take away your pain. But not until I hear your scream one more time. I rather enjoy it."

Tara watched Willow looking back at her, and then at Borzan just as the demon slammed the white hot brand onto her chest. And then Tara heard it.

A wild scream that made Tara place her hands over her ears.

She looked at Willow, whose face was red as she roared out in pain. Unimaginable pain. Then there were flashes of light that covered Willow's body. Light that made Tara look on helplessly as symbols were being carved on her bones and the surface of her organs; the same symbols that were present on the brand that was being burned onto her skin. Tara smelled Willow's burning flesh while the latter continued to scream and Borzan laughed. Tara saw Willow struggling while pulling up on her chains. But nothing was working.

And then, a moment that seemed like hours to Tara, ended by Borzan stepping back and taking the brand off the white haired young woman's chest. The demon's laughter faded away, as did Willow's screams of pain as he dropped the poker onto the ground. Tara looked on as Willow was sobbing with her eyes closed shut; her eyes shut because of the pain that was permeating through he entire body.

Willow could feel her flesh burning as the symbols etched themselves onto her lungs, her heart; and she could feel the burning from her bones at the symbols etched themselves to her ribcage. She knew she was about to lose consciousness from the pain. But she still looked up at the young woman who was looing back at her from behind Borzan. Willow remembered the young woman from the time she found herself out of her cage, it was the same woman who had crashed into her. It was the same woman who was being attacked by the grinning demons, the same woman she saved.

Willow look back at Borzan who was mumbling a spell before he looked at the woman again. Willow had another flash memory of her standing with the three women after the attack, followed by another memory of her being in the room with Althanea. Willow then looked at Borzan once again as he placed his hand on her forehead, and then the pain in her body was gone.

And Willow knew where her memories would take her next. She turned her head to look for the woman, but she wasn't there anymore. And some part of Willow felt it fitting since it was going to be her first day as a Jailer.

 **Willow's Room, 0700 hours.**

Tara's eyes snapped open when she heard another louder scream that had come out of Willow's lips after the poker was pulled off her skin. And all that was left was a brand on the white haired young woman's skin that forced Tara awake. She found herself with her head on the mattress, and her eyes opening to look at Willow's hand laying on the soft bedsheet. Tara then got up, and stretched her arms up over her head while she stood up to see Althanea fast asleep on the couch. Tara put her arms back down and recalled the things they had talked about until it was nearly two in the morning. With it being late, Tara suggested that she sleep here before she had to go back to her dorm room at U.C. Sunnydale.

It was something that Althanea suggested.

Tara remembered Althanea asking her to stay with the sleeping Willow while she went to check on Anya and Xander.

'I said yes,' thought Tara to herself as she creeped towards Willow's head. Tara reached forward and then brushed her white hair from her forehead, and then she pulled her hand back. The young witch felt that it was creepy for her to do what she was doing especially since Willow wasn't awake. So Tara sat back down on the chair, and smiled at Willow before whispering a prayer to the goddess of light, that Willow's soul would be protected from the darkness.

Today was the day that things went fast for Tara, unbelievably fast.

It would be later that day that Tara would meet with Buffy, Giles, Joyce, and the others before they turned to care for Willow. With Althanea's spell knocking Willow out for some time, Tara stepped back and watched as Buffy and Joyce cared for the white haired young woman. It was Jenny, standing next to her, who described the relationship that Willow had with Xander, Buffy, and Giles.

And for another time since she had arrived in Sunnydale for attending the university, Tara was surprised with a revelation.

Buffy was a Slayer. One of two.

Tara had heard of Slayers; her mother had told her about them but she believed that they were a myth. Something to scare the forces of darkness, but she never expected to see one of them. And that was another mystery to Tara, her mother had always told her that there could be only one Slayer in existence. And here she was looking at two. It was something that amazed Tara as she was introduced to Faith, had come back into the room after checking on the conscious, but injured, Xander and Anya.

While the group was getting to know Tara, Giles had slipped out for an urgent meeting with Ira and Sheila's lawyer, who then accompanied him to a judge. It would be later that day that Willow was placed under Giles' guardianship for the next six months until Willow turned eighteen. Once Giles had returned with the paperwork, Althanea began arranging travel to Devon for her and Willow. She told Giles and the others that she could risk Willow getting onto a plane, that she was afraid that the young woman would be frightened, and lash out at the passengers and crew. Instead, she was going to coordinate with the Coven on a teleportation spell that would get them from Sunnydale to Devon instantly. It was after talking to the whole group about the spell, Althanea and the other adults privately asked Tara if she would consent to being the resident witch, someone who could help the Scoobies with their fight against the dark forces.

"We'll understand if you say no," said Althanea while Joyce, Jenny, and Giles sat around her at the waiting room two floors down while Faith and Buffy remained with Willow. The two of whom would be later joined by Riley and Graham who brought flowers for the two young women before telling them that they hadn't told their Commander about the Slayers; it was something that the two young women appreciated.

While Buffy and Faith were speaking with Riley and Graham, telling them about how Willow seemed to be in a catatonic state after her demonic captor murdered her parents to get to her, Tara nodded her head. She told Giles, Jenny, and Joyce that she was willing to help them; and that she would continue to help them even after Althanea returned.

"Of course," replied Althanea.

 **The Devon Coven, 0820 hours; the next day.**

Willow woke up with the sun beating down on her face. She found herself awake on a soft bed in the middle of a large room. The walls were made of stone, and there were pictures and paintings hanging on the walls. She slowly sat up while rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands before placing them on the bed and silently looking around the brightly lit room. She looked at the three windows that allowed light in through the sheers white curtains, and then she looked at the tables around the room, a large closet, and then two side tables on either side of the bed.

She knew that this wasn't the room where she had attacked the blonde; it wasn't the room where she nearly squeezed her life away with her bare hands. Willow looked down at the bed sheet, and was confused about the memories that were flooding in… she closed her eyes as she flew through the stars in one memory, and then was battling a horned robot in another memory. But the one memory that stuck out was the deaths of her parents.

"Mommy, daddy," whispered Willow as a breeze brushed against her cheek. It was something that made Willow turn her head to the left as the curtains started to flutter in the increased breeze. Slowly getting of the bed, Willow walked with her bare feet against the cold floor to the open window. She parted the curtains and gasped at the scenery in front of her. For a thousand years, Willow had seen horror. She didn't remember who she was, her life before hell, or why she was in hell in the first place.

But she hoped to find out.

As she looked at the rolling hills of green outside the fourth floor of the large house she was in, she heard the door knocking behind her. Turning around, Willow looked on as Althanea opened the door and smiled at her. Willow watched as she walked into the room with a much older woman behind her wearing a dark blue dress while her hands were clasped together in front of her body.

"Willow," said Althanea, who sensed that the white haired young woman had plenty of questions, "you're somewhere else. You're in a place called Devon, far away from Sunnydale. I wanted to get you out of there so that you could recover in peace… and this is the woman who'll be helping me. Who will be helping you recover your memories."

"As well as your humanity, my dear," said the older woman as she reached for, and gently held onto the surprised Willow's hands. The older woman looked at the palms of Willow's hands, and then up into her eyes, and smiled, "your memories are fragmented, your spirit is broken, as is your psyche. But all is not lost… I sense something in you. Something that would help you to recover. We will help you find it. My name is Agatha Harkness, Willow… and let us get started."

TBC.


	30. Chapter 30

**Devon Coven, Eight months later.**

Willow was sitting cross-legged under a thick-trunked, wide canopied, green leafed tree, and looking out at the rolling hills spread out into the distance. She felt the gentle breeze go through her white hair, hair that used to be bright red.. a detail that she started to remember once she had begun her treatment at the Devon Coven. She looked down at the white coloured gown she was wearing, combined with a pair of blue jeans that covered her entire body. The only parts that anyone could see were her head, and her hands, and her feet when they weren't covered by her shoes or sandals.

As for the rest of her body, Willow couldn't stand to look at herself; she'd see the symbol on her chest... the symbol that forever marked her as one of Acathla's jailors, and memories would come back to her time in Hell. She would see the brand and imagine the screams of her victims, she could see their blood on her hands, and some time on her whole body. She then thought about the brand on her shoulder blade, and then the marks all over her body made by knives and whips that were covered in hellfire… all so that the marks would remain even after she was resurrected after death.

As she looked around at the view in front of her, she heard rustling from above. Willow looked up at the rustling leaves, and then to her left at the sound of footsteps on the various shades of green grass. She saw a familiar figure walk around the tree trunk, and then stand next to her. The figure leaned on the trunk, before slipping down with her back against the trunk, and sitting next to Willow.

"Althanea," said Willow glancing at the woman once again, the woman who had done so much for her ever since she was brought back from Hell, "I… I don't know if I'm ready."

"Is that why you're hiding out in your happy place?" asked Althanea as she looked around at the brightly lit day, at the sunlight streaming through the leaves of the tree canopy above them. She then turned her head towards Willow and stroked the back of her head with her left hand, "it's unbelievable how far you've come in only eight months, Willow."

"I have so much anger, Althanea," Willow replied as she looked at the grass. She picked up a fistful of blades before squeezing the green coloured vegetation in her hand, "when you and the others were cleansing my spirit, I… I remember my anger.. my hate, and…"

"You're supposed to," Althanea gently said as Willow sighed, leaned back on the tree trunk, and laid her legs outwards, "those emotions are supposed to come out to the surface with your memories, and it's a sign that your spirit and psyche are being repaired. Willow, it's the best way to deal with your anger… with your emotions. It's the after effect of bringing your humanity to the fore."

Willow was about to say something when Althanea interrupted her.

"Your anger is under control," said Althanea, "Miss Harness, the others, even I can see it. You're meditating every day, you're training just how Niko used to train every day. You've remembered her techniques, and what you used to do to focus yourself. I've seen you work hard, Willow. You're further along than anyone could have ever imagined, and I'm proud of you."

Willow looked down at the brown blades of grass in her hands after opening her hands to the gentle breeze. The breeze carried the crushed, brown pieces away before Willow put her hands on her sides. She continued to look at her hands as she recalled the first day that she, Althanea, and Agatha started the treatment that would cleanse Willow.

 **The Devon Coven, eight months earlier.**

From the room she had woken up in, the white-haired Willow was brought to one room full of plants where the roof was covered in clear, domed, tinted glass. She looked around amazed at the smell of the roses and the various other flowers… something she doubted she had ever smelled before. Agatha gently held on to Willow's hand, before taking her further into the room where there was a table surrounded by women seated drinking tea. Women who stopped talking once they sensed the arrival of the three women.

"Willow," said Agatha as she placed her hand on the white-haired young woman's back as the seated women smiled at the newcomers. She then motioned towards the other five women, who were starting to mumble as they walked around the table… and towards them, "these are the rest of the witches who make up the Devon Coven. We're the heads of our order, and… as Althanea has already told you, we'll help you to recover."

"So this is she?" asked a dark haired older woman as she held onto the side of Willow's face. Althanea nodded her head while Willow, the former redhead, saw the woman's eyes go wide before releasing the sides of her head. The witch shook her head before looking straight into Willow's eyes, "it is true. You have the memories of two people. I saw her, and I saw you… two people.. one mind. Astonishing."

Willow looked at Althanea, who reached for, and held onto her hand. Confusion was etched on Willow's face as she looked at Althanea who smiled back at her.

"You may not remember yet, Willow," said Althanea, "but you have the memories of another. A woman named Niko. You have her memories, her experiences, her powers, and her training. We'll help you discover all that you once were. We will help you come to terms with everything you have experienced"

"Now come, my dear," said another middle aged, grey haired woman, as she walked towards Willow, "first, we have some tea. You must be famished. And then… then we begin."

And begin they did.

The shy and nervous Willow, who sat next to Althanea, drank a sip of Earl Grey and closed her eyes. She felt the liquid go down her throat just as she experienced a memory flash of her time as a little girl. The young woman then leaned back in her seat, and watched the others talk and drink, and then she looked back at her cup and thought about the first time she had been out of the country with her parents. It was to Rome for a conference, her first time abroad when she was five years old since the Rosenberg's weren't able to get a nanny in time.

It was her first and last trip abroad.

Willow covered her mouth and gasped; something that Althanea had noticed before putting her cup down on the table and turning to the tearful Willow who was having another memory of when she was younger. She remembered her sixth Halloween, where both she and little Xander were trick or treating. She remembered Xander taking a picture of her, she remembered a female police officer taking a picture of them both. It was the same picture that was in both of their rooms. She remembered the police officer walking her home, and Willow remembered the next day when Xander came back to school with a bruise on his shoulder.

Shaking her head, Willow grabbed her head and looked at Althanea.

"Mom… mommy," said Willow before she closed her eyes and tears went down her cheeks as she had more flashbacks of her parents. Every single day she spent with, and without, Ira and Sheila were coming to the surface of her mind. Althanea hugged the young woman as the others looked on at the crying Willow. All of them could feel her loneliness, anguish, and even her deep-seated anger… the witches felt it all. Agatha was the first one to rise and walk towards Althanea and Willow; she placed a hand on the white haired young woman's shoulder while she was hugging Althanea, and told her that they shouldn't wait any longer.

Willow parted from Althanea, who wiped the tears from the younger girl's eyes, and then looked up at Agatha.

"We will be putting you in a sleep state," said Agatha as the other witches rose to their feet and stepped away from the table. Willow looked at everyone, but she didn't feel threatened. In fact, she felt warm… a peaceful warmth was permeating her body just as the table vanished, and in its place was a pedestal covered in a white sheet with crystals of various colours on small tables surrounding it. She looked at Agatha once again and listened as the witch said that they would be doing the treatment for an hour every day due to the things she had experienced in Hell.

"You stayed in Acathla's Hell for nearly a thousand years, child," said an older woman who seemed to be in her eighties, "ordinarily we would do this cleansing ritual once every three days, or once a week at least."

"But for you," said another woman, "we will be performing this ritual every day until enough of the essence of Hell that still permeates your body, mind, and spirit has been expelled. After that, we will show you meditation techniques so that you could further cleanse your spirit. Thus further healing your spirit, your psyche, and strengthening what makes your humanity."

"But first," said Althanea with Willow turning to look at her, "I need you to create a safe place in your mind."

Willow didn't know a safe place. Sure, she knew she was getting her memories back, but she still didn't know what was, or was not, safe. She looked at Althanea with fear in her eyes while shaking her head. As a result, Althanea grabbed both of Willow's cheeks, and asked her to imagine, in her mind, where she believed she would be safe.

"Close your eyes, Willow," Althanea said gently, "close your eyes, imagine, and I'll be right there."

It was a few seconds later that the two of them, Willow and Althanea, found themselves under a large, thick trunked tree with a large green-leafed canopy. There were rolling hills that spread off into the distance just like the view from Willow's room in the Coven. Althanea could see the sun high in the sky, and then she looked at Willow whose eyes were closed as the rays of light went past the spaces between the leaves and fell on her face.

In the outside world, Willow was now lying on the floor while Althanea was cradling her upper body in her arms.

"You care for this child, Althanea," said Agatha as Althanea kissed Willow's forehead.

"She lost so much," whispered Althanea as she lay Willow down on the floor, her mind still connected to the white haired girl, "she sacrificed herself to save the world, she spent nearly a thousand years in hell where she experienced unimaginable torment, and then.. when she finally was returned to us; her parents were murdered. She deserves more, Miss Harkness. She deserves to have her old life returned to her… but since I can't give that to her, I can help her retrieve as much of herself as I can."

"As will we," said Agatha as she waved her arms and Willow rose gently into the air. She floated towards the pedestal while the witches made their way around it. They stood around the pedestal as Willow was gently lowered by magic, and then Agatha waved her hands. The crystals on the tables lifted themselves up and floated to various places over Willow's body; her forehead, chest, abdomen, hands, arms, legs, heart, among others. It was then that the witches started to chant a spell, Althanea watched as the crystals lit up one by one.. and as they did, a line of pure white light travelled from one crystal to another before the lines of light surrounded and engulfed Willow. The lines of light then started to pulse while the witches continued to chant.

'The crystals would absorb the darkness, and help heal Willow,' thought Althanea to herself as she looked at the redhead, 'you'll be alright, Willow. You will be alright.'

This ritual was performed every morning before Althanea, Agatha, and a few of the other witches showed her techniques that would help speed up the healing of her spirit and mind. Others showed Willow techniques that would help rebuild her spirit and confidence. And a few more witches were assigned to be councillors who would talk to Willow about her experiences in Hell.

All the while, Althanea was there for Willow. Eventually, Willow started to break out of her shell. It was a few weeks after the start of the rituals that Althanea and Agatha had seen the first signs of light in Willow's aura.

But they knew there was a long way to go, but they were confident that Willow would be healed. They were just amazed at how fast she was going.

 **Devon Coven, Present Day.**

Back in the present day, Willow stood up with Althanea under the tree in her 'happy place'. She closed her eyes and found herself back in her room at the coven, with bags packed near the door. It was then that Willow saw Agatha standing with her hands clasped together, a smile on her face. It had been nearly eight months since Willow was away, and now she was heading back home. A seer had told Agatha the previous day that the Slayers were in danger, that Borzan still hadn't been killed. When the news came in, Willow was meditating out in the fields of the massive estate that belonged to the coven. Althanea told the seer that Angel had cut the head off the demon, that there was no way that it could still be alive.

"It is alive by the use of science," said the seer as Althanea and Agatha's faces became serious. The both of them couldn't imagine what anyone could have done to raise Borzan from the dead without his head. Once they received the news, Althanea had called Giles in Sunnydale, who confirmed that they had received that same vision from Doyle only a few minutes ago. When Willow returned from her meditation, Agatha and Althanea told her about the vision that the seer had received and the similarities with the vision that Doyle had received as well.

"Willow?" asked Althanea.

"I want Borzan to pay," said Willow, her eyes filled with rage, "I'm glad he's not dead yet, I want to kill him. For every thing he has done to me."

"Willow," said Agatha noticing the calmness in Willow's aura despite the rage in the white haired young woman's eyes, "you will also be meeting Buffy, and your friends,"

Willow took a few breaths in to calm down before she nodded her head. She then turned around and walked back to her room saying, "I'll be fine."

Back in the present day, Willow sighed before walking towards her bags, and then taking them to hallway outside. Soon, Althanea joined the young woman as well in the hallway. Their taxi was waiting to take them to the airport.

"Remember, Willow," said Agatha who walked along with them through the hallway, "keep up with your meditation, you remember Niko's training now… follow those as well. And you will keep a hold on who you are. Never lose sight, Willow… you still haven't gotten a good hold of the anger within you, so…"

"I'll control it, Agatha," said Willow with a small smile while she imagined cutting out Drusilla's eyes, she imagined the screams while she and Althanea brought their bags down the stone stairs to the foyer below. As Agatha stepped outside into the bright sunny day with the two women, Will imagined hanging Drusilla upside down,,, her body bleeding. Willow hugged Agatha and thanked her for repairing her psyche and her memories, and for bringing out her humanity, "I'm starting to deal with the memories."

"Talk to Althanea," said Agatha as she caressed Willow's cheeks, "talk to your friends about what you faced in the Pit… it will help them take you down the road to where you are supposed to be."

"I will," replied Willow as she imagined hugging Buffy, and then stabbing her with a sword. Willow looked at the wide open eyes that kept asking 'why' and all Willow could do was smile. Coming back to hugging Agatha, Willow stepped back and promised to be in contact with her.

"Farewell, Willow," said Agatha before kissing Willow's cheek, "take care of yourself."

"Goodbye, Miss Harkness," said Willow before getting into the taxi with Althanea. As she closed the door, Willow imagined pressing her Rangers badge, and then splitting Giles in two, before turning Angel to dust. She imagined mentally tearing Spike's arms off and then imagining what she would do with someone like him on her torture rack.

'A large syringe of holy water injected into his veins,' thought Willow as she sat back while the car started to move, 'I want to hear his screams.'

"Willow?" asked Althanea, "penny for your thoughts."

"Just thinking about what I'll say to Buffy, Giles, and the others, Althanea," said Willow looking back at her with a smile on her lips, "I know what happened is not their fault, but…"

"It's understandable if you're angry," said Althanea, "as we talked about while in your happy place, you need to meditate and talk to someone to help control your anger, Willow. You have me; I asked Tara to talk to you… if you want, you have Buffy, Giles, Jenny… you have all of us. And all of us love you, Willow."

"I know," said Willow looking at Althanea while remembering what the witch did a month after the cleansing rituals had begun. Willow was having a nightmare, and her screams were reverberating throughout the entire home. It was Althanea who rushed to her before anyone else, it was Althanea who hugged her while the white-haired young girl was sobbing. It was then that Willow revealed everything that happened to her in Hell. From the first day she became Acathla's Jailer, to the day she tried to escape, and then when she lost her mind due to the pain… the immense pain. Willow told Althanea and Agatha what happened over a period of six months while she continued to meditate and train, and her body was continued to be cleansed.

But the anger was still there.

As Willow held on to Althanea's hand, the taxi drove out of the massive estate. Willow started to meditate. Taking deep breaths before finding herself back in her happy place, looking out to the rolling hills and sitting under her tree. This was where she wanted to be.. this is where it was peaceful for her.

At least until she was home again.

TBC.


	31. Chapter 31

**The Initiative Headquarters, Eight months ago.**

Riley, Graham, and Forrest had brought back the dead body of the unknown demon to the Initiative headquarters beneath the U.C. Sunnydale campus where it was taken by gurney from a hidden entrance and brought inside. The three men followed the gurney, which was soon joined by Dr. Angleman and Walsh, through a lit hallway to an elevator. They then took the elevator down a few levels before the psychology professor ordered Dr. Angleman to take the body of the demon to the labs for examination while Walsh debriefed the three of them. Nodding their heads, the three agents then followed Walsh while the body was taken away by Dr. Angleman and his attendants. However, Riley and Graham couldn't help but look at each other as they recalled Buffy and Faith's warnings, before glancing over at the body which vanished into a hallway behind a security door.

When Borzan's body was brought into Room 314 of the secured area, it was placed next to another body that was covered in a white sheet. In the meantime, Dr. Angleman drained the black blood from the body into test tubes for testing, and a large beaker which would be refrigerated for testing at another site, while waiting for Walsh to finish debriefing Riley and the others. It was an hour later, the headless body now cold, when Walsh walked into the room and nodded her head at Dr. Angleman. The doctor then picked up a scalpel while Walsh was putting on some gloves, and then started Borzan's autopsy. Dr. Angleman stepped back in surprise at the stench that wafted out of the body while Walsh covered her nose and examined the black coloured organs. She took out the organs one by one, alongside the doctor who shook his head and got his bearings once again, until the body itself was empty.

He turned around to weigh some of the organs on the scale behind him, so he didn't see Walsh taking a step back. However, he did hear the gasp that escaped her mouth, and Dr. Angleman turned around to witness Borzan's body turning a pale grey colour before it disintegrated into dust on the table. Dr. Angleman then stared at the organs on another table while Walsh looked at the organs on the scale from behind his shoulder. They had turned grey and then disintegrated into dust as well.

All except for the black heart which was glistening under the overhead fluorescent lights. The both of them then took a step back and gasped.

The heart had just started beating steadily as Walsh and Dr. Angleman looked up at each other with their eyes wide open, and then at the heart pumping without a body or blood. Stepping forward cautiously, Walsh reached out with her gloved hand and placed it on the beating heart. She lifted it, and then a small smile appeared on her face. She looked at Angleman and ordered him to place the heart in the body that lay across from the empty table where Borzan's body had once laid.

"Maggie," said Dr. Angleman, his face unsure of what he was being asked to do, combined with this feeling of dread that sent a chill up his spine while looking at the beating black heart, "I don't.. I mean… look at it. I think we should study this phenomenon first and…"

"Open Adam up," said the Professor as she stared at Angleman, "our boy has a human heart… he needs one from a demon. A very powerful demon… and like you said, this heart is beating without a body. Can you imagine the power?"

"Which is why we should run tests," said Angleman as he stood on the other side of the table facing Walsh, "before we do anything."

"We can debrief Adam when he wakes up," said Walsh with her eyes opened wide in awe as she stared at the heart, and then at Angleman once again, "I want this in him. Now!"

Putting away his doubts, Angleman pulled away the sheet that was covering the part human, part machine, and part demon monstrosity that lay on the table before him. Walsh was here the entire time holding the black beating heart in her hand, while Angleman was operating on Adam, eventually pulling out his heart surgically. Placing the red heart on a table, Dr. Angleman then reached out for and was handed, the black beating heart which was then placed into the cavity. With Adam's blood on a bypass machine, the jet black heart was then connected, and before long the bypass machine was shut off with the rhythmic 'beeping' of the heart machine proving that the surgery had worked.

Adam was, for all intents and purposes, still alive. When suddenly, he started to crash. Angleman looked up at Walsh whose eyes were glassed over while looking down at Adam and shouted at her to get to the defibrillator behind her. However, Walsh didn't move, instead, she just stood by Adam's side with a sneer on her face before looking up at Angleman who rushed past her and grabbed the defibrillator. Turning around, as Dr. Angleman pulled the device that was on a cart to the other side of the table where Adam lay, Walsh headed for another table, trudging along as the machines gave off a long beep indicating that the new heart had stopped beating.

"Clear!" yelled Angleman as he shot an electrical charge into Adam's chest with the paddles while Walsh, unknown to the doctor, was pouring all the black blood the doctor had extracted into a large syringe. Angleman was about to shock Adam again when Walsh told him to step back. The doctor looked up at the Professor, and narrowed his eyebrows at the glassy-eyed woman. He stared at her face, and then at her hands… particularly at the syringe of black blood, "Maggie?"

"He will rise," muttered Walsh as she injected the body with the black blood, just as Angleman reached out and yelled for her not to, that they needed to experiment on the blood. But it was too late; by the time he grabbed her hand, the syringe was empty. However, a few seconds later, Adam's heart started beating again. Angleman looked at the beeping machines around him while letting go of Walsh's hand, but turned back to look at her when he heard a crash. He stared at a dazed Walsh, who was looking at the broken syringe on the floor, and then at the black blood from the heart on her gloved hand.

"Maggie?" asked Angleman.

"It was strange," said Walsh, her eyes narrowed in confusion while looking at her hand, and then up at Angleman, "it was as if I was looking out of my eyes, but I wasn't in control."

"Maggie, that's the very definition of possession," said Angleman as he looked at the body of Adam, and then back at Walsh, "I…"

"This is a good thing," said Walsh as she looked at her hand, and smiled before looking at Angleman. She reached out her gloved hand and told him to take it off, and test whatever remained of the blood. She then turned her head towards Adam, and said that he was going to be powerful, "I felt it, the darkness, the powers… such incredible power; my God, Adam will be such a great weapon."

"Maggie," said Angleman with worry in his voice while he put on a pair of gloves, and then carefully peeled off Walsh's black stained gloves, "I need to take you to get checked out. You were just possessed… I saw the signs, and…"

"This.. what just happened does not leave this room," hissed Walsh.

"You know the protocols for exposure to an HST," said Angleman, "Maggie, you…"

"You will do nothing," hissed Walsh as she walked around the table while Angleman continued holding her hand, "this is a gift for us. The ultimate weapon to make those fools at the Pentagon happy, but… but Adam is so much more. He is my son."

"Like Riley's your son?" asked the doctor.

"The both of them are near the peak of their conditioning," said Walsh with a sneer forming on her face, "and soon, Riley will join his brother. The two of them will lead the way in stopping the HST infection in this world."

"Maggie," said Angleman as she pulled her hand away before turning around and heading for the door, "please, I…"

"You tell anyone?" said Walsh looking over her should as she placed her hand on the door handle, "I will kill you."

As the door closed behind Walsh, Dr. Angleman looked at the body of Adam, and a shudder went through his body. There was a part of him that was screaming what they had just done was unholy, but he quickly set his thoughts aside before getting back to work on the glove. He knew that Adam had to be observed for months, at least until they received an important part; the left hand of a Polgora demon.

 **Sunnydale, Four months later.**

It would be four months later, with Graham and Riley occasionally joining both Buffy and Faith on their Slayings, that the two initiative members finally understood that the two Slayers were beyond anything they thought. The girls were strong, agile, and healed very fast; and so Riley and Graham suggested that they join the Initiative. Especially since their missions complemented with one another.

"And you guys can help us with understanding some of the things that are out there," said Graham while Riley nodded his head. Both he and Graham had just watched the two Slayers kill a nest of vampires before making the offer - to which Buffy said that she was willing, while Faith declined, saying that joining the military wasn't her style.

"But you won't be joining the military," assured Graham who was walking next to her with his arm around her shoulders.

"Even so," said Faith before she glanced over at Buffy, "maybe one of us should be on the outside. You know what I mean?"

"Let them think that there's only one Slayer?" asked Buffy as Faith smirked while nodding her head.

"In case things get out of hand, I'll pitch in," said Faith, "besides, I'm guessing that if they happen to see a second Slayer… I'm the one who's going to be cut open and examined."

"That's not gonna happen," asserted Riley.

"Still," shrugged Faith as she circled around to Graham's front, "you know what they say about Slayers after a kill?"

"What?" asked Graham while Buffy chuckled as she held on to Riley's hand.

"Hungry, and horny," smirked Faith as she grabbed the man by his collar, and then pulled him away, "guess which one I'm feeling now."

As he watched Graham being taken away, Riley waved at his friend before turning to Buffy. She told the young man that she was just hungry. It was a few days later that, Buffy was introduced to Walsh. The Slayer was surprised to learn that her psychology Professor was the leader of a secret para-military organisation. As for the surprised Professor, she revealed that she had heard of the Slayer, but she believed that the tales were just a myth. So to see Buffy in front of her was awe inspiring. However, even before finding out that Buffy was a Slayer, there was a part of Walsh that did not like the influence that she seemed to carry with Riley, neither did she like the influence that Graham's girlfriend had on him. However, Walsh did not know about Faith being the Slayer as agreed. Instead, the Professor told Buffy, especially after hearing of her exploits, that she would work on getting clearance for her to work alongside them in the Initiative.

 **Sunnydale, Six months later.**

And after two additional months of background checks, Buffy was finally a part of the Initiative. It was soon evident to Walsh, that Buffy was a liability thanks to all the questions she had been asking. Unknown her, it was the same questions that Faith and the Scoobies had wanted her to ask, especially those connected to the experiments being carried out on demons. It was those experiments that brought Buffy's thoughts to Spike and Borzan. While she wasn't worried about Spike… she and Faith were concerned about Borzan; especially since the Initiative were the ones who took the body away.

But since Buffy and Faith didn't want to tell anyone else in the Initiative, other than what their respective boyfriends already knew, that they were present at the hospital that day. Buffy tried to ask questions, but she was shut down by Walsh who insisted that whatever went on in the labs was none of her concern. However, from Walsh's reaction, Buffy could tell that there was definitely something that Walsh did not want anyone to see… especially her.

And it made her suspicions grow that they were doing something to Borzan's body.

However, Buffy didn't know how bad it was. And neither did Faith, the other Scoobies, or the Initiative itself. None of them realised that Borzan's heart was already in Adam's body. It was a total of six months after Willow left Sunnydale, that Buffy was in the Initiative. And all of her questions had made her a target for Walsh, who was afraid that her questions would uncover Adam. So in her second week with the Initiative, after finally killing the Polgara demon that she and the initiative were ordered to kill by Walsh, Buffy was nearly killed.

It was that later that night that Buffy left the Initiative after Riley and Graham found out what happened; Walsh had told the both of them a fabricated story about Buffy going off on her own with one of the new camera mounted headsets and a weapon.

But she died. At least, that;s what Walsh thought.

It wasn't long before Buffy's face showed up on the screens behind Walsh, screens that she claimed she had been monitoring ever since Buffy left. It would be after both Graham and Riley left Walsh behind them as she screamed at them to return that the Professor would slink back to the secret lab. Angry at what she left as her life's work falling apart, Walsh proceeded to walk Adam up from his slumber. However, things didn't go as planned when Adam woke up and then got off the bed before demanding to know what happened to him.

"I….." croaked Walsh as she was lifted up into the air by the hand that was gripped around her throat, "Ad… Adam."

"Adam?" asked the monstrosity as he tilted his head, and then looked away as if he was thinking. He then looked at Walsh, whose face had started to turn pale, "no… not Adam. That was what you wanted to create. I can see… I can see the data you put into my mind. Amazing things you humans are capable of.. a human-demon hybrid, simply amazing."

"Stoooop!" Walsh tried to scream as she squirmed.

"I must know more about this new form you have given me… let me see your name… my database says you are Professor Maggie Walsh," he said.

"Yes," said Walsh as Borzan placed her feet on the ground, and loosened his grip around her throat, "I… put the beating heart into this body and…"

"Ah, yes," said Borzan with a sneer as he looked Walsh up and down, "I know I am missing vital information, and.."

"Data disks about everything you… or Adam was supposed to be, plus tactics, and other miscellaneous information you need to know," said Walsh as she pointed at a counter where there were ten data disks stacked on top of the other, "I…."

"Pity that I could not take you with me," said Borzan as he stared at the disks, and then at Walsh, "it seems I do not have the capability to bring you and I back to Hell."

"Hell?" said Walsh as she opened her eyes wide, "I…."

"I would have preserved your soul… such a dark soul you have," said Borzan as he brushed his fingers on her cheek, "only such a soul would dare play around with something they do not understand. Thanks to you, I will bring Hell to this world. I will open the Hellmouth and then have my kingdom here. I will rule in Acathla's stead."

"I…." said Walsh as tears gathered in her eyes. She was looking into the face of a madman talking about bringing Hell to Earth. And there was a part of her that knew he could do it… and all the while, she was asking herself, 'what have I done?'

"But I must first gather myself," said Borzan, "I will absorb your data disks, and then I will come up with a plan. I will take care of the Slayers and their friends, and then I will find my 'It'. I will chain her as I build a great demon army, and then… and then I will beat her into submission as she screams while hell takes over this world."

"No, no," said Walsh as she shook her head. She wanted to scream, she wanted to scream for Buffy to help her… but her mouth was dry and Borzan tightened his grip. Her eyes opened wide as he pulled his arm back, and then there was a squelching sound as he pushed it forward. Walsh looked down at a half-demonic arm that went through her chest, and she rolled her eyes back.

Borzan then pulled his arm out of her chest and walked to the counter calmly. He stole the disks and then made his way out of the Initiative base… killing one guard after another before they could do anything. He stepped out into the sunlit sky with the disks in his hand. He pulled out a map from the database in his mind and headed to a secluded area where he could spend time gathering his forces in secret, and absorbing all the data that he was about to install into his mind.

 **Sunnydale, Eight months later; Present day.**

And it would be two months later, a total of eight months had passed since Willow left Sunnydale that Borzan finally had everything he needed ready. His army of vampires was prepared to move into the city. His army of demons was already captured by the Initiative and was about to escape from the crowded cells in a few days. And Borzan himself had already targeted the Slayers and their family. The only one he wasn't able to find was his 'It'… he couldn't find Willow.

Not until, one day, he stepped out of his lair into the sunlit day with a smile on his face. He looked up at a plane flying overhead, and his smile turned to a laugh.

While Borzan was looking at the plane flying overhead, Willow had her head on the window looking out over the wing. She turned her head to Althanea who was seated right next to her and told her that she could feel his evil from all the way up in the sky. Althanea held Willow's hand tight and reminded her that all of them were going to take care of Borzan for all time. Willow then looked out the window and caught her own reflection. She saw the rage in her own eyes, rage which was building as her eyes turned black. Willow tightened her hold on Althanea's hand as she closed her eyes and felt the magic growing around her.. she felt her anger increasing her own telekinetic powers until the plane started to shake.

Althanea heard the screams around her as the plane swung to and fro as if hitting turbulence. The seatbelt light came on as she turned to Willow and released her hand. The witch then put her arm around Willow's shoulder and pulled her close.

"Shhh… Willow," said Althanea. She felt Willow's telekinesis, combined with a bit of magic, flare up as the plane started to shake violently while she whispered in her ear, "Willow, calm down. You can do it, regain control. Remember what Ariel taught you, Willow. Come on, honey. Shh… control yourself."

Almost immediately, Althanea felt Willow's magic drop, as did her telekinesis, until the plane was flying steadily. While the cabin erupted in applause for the Captain and his Co-Pilot, Willow opened her eyes and whispered that she wanted Borzan dead.

"I want to kill him," she whispered as Althanea held on tighter to the young woman, "and then I want to visit them. I want to visit mom and dad."

"You will," said Althanea as she looked out the window while Willow leaned into her, "we'll win, Willow. We'll win."

TBC.


	32. Chapter 32

**Sunnydale Airport, 1400 hours.**

Buffy, Giles, and Xander were at the airport baggage claim area waiting for Willow and Althanea to get out off the plane, which had made a stop in Los Angeles. Giles was looking at the screen which showed that the plane landed nearly ten minutes ago, and it had just arrived at the gate. He then glanced back over his shoulder at Buffy and Xander, the latter who was holding a 'Welcome Home' sign written with a yellow crayon and white paper. When asked why he wrote it in something that could barely be seen, Xander said that it had to do with a story about a yellow crayon that only Willow would know.

While everyone wanted to come to the airport and receive the redhead it was Joyce who said that it would be best if Giles, Xander, and Buffy went to pick her up instead given that they were the original members of the Scooby gang. She continued by saying that they would be at home where Graham and Riley would be helping plan take down Borzan with the others.

Back at the airport, Giles went back to stand with Xander and Buffy who were still waiting on the two of them. It was a few minutes later that a smile appeared on Buffy's lips as Willow walked down the walkway with Althanea by her side.

"Will," said Buffy taking a few steps forward before standing in front of the white haired young woman while Xander and Giles stood behind the Slayer, "are.. are… I mean, how are you?"

Willow looked into the Slayer's eyes, and imagined Buffy chocking. Willow was imagining using her telekinesis to create a solid ball in Buffy's windpipe while she smiled at the Slayer getting on her knees, and then falling to her side while gasping for air and reaching out to her. Once part of Willow was telling her to really do it, that she had the power in her body to do what needed to be done. She recalled finding Oz's body, and her reaction to Buffy the next day.

Taking a deep breathe, Willow closed her eyes and shook her head. Opening them again, she saw Buffy looking back at her.. and gave the Slayer a small smile.

"You remember me?" asked Buffy, her voice full of hope.

"I do, Buffy," said Willow as the Slayer sniffled before taking another step forward and hugging her best friend tight. Willow held on to Buffy by placing her hands on her back, and her chin on Buffy's shoulder.

"I missed you," Buffy whispered into Willow's ear before stepping back and placing her hand on her cheeks, "I missed you so much."

Willow nodded her head before looking over Buffy's shoulder at Xander, who was looking back at her sheepishly. The former redhead noticed the sign Xander was holding, and immediately she was back in kindergarten; her yellow crayon breaking in half, she heard herself sobbing while wiping the tears from her eyes, and then a tap on her shoulder as a little boy handed his yellow crayon to her.

"Xander," Willow whispered as Buffy stepped to one side so that the two old friends could hug each other. She saw a tear coming down Willow's cheek as she held on tight to the dark haired young man while Althanea patted Willow's shoulder before hugging Buffy. While they were hugging, Giles wiped his eyes.. he still remembered that day like it was only yesterday; he remembered Willow's screams and sobs as she was being raped, he remembered her tears going down her cheeks while telling him that she knew what she had to do, but was still scared… scared that she had to die and go to hell . Giles remembered looking into Willow's terrified eyes after she whispered that she forgave him for what he was about to do.

And he remembered shoving the sword into her chest. He remembered himself crying after Buffy pushed him away from her, he remembered Buffy's screams of anguish, and he remembered dragging the Slayer away from Willow's body as it was being pulled into hell.

He remembered everything as Xander stepped back, letting go of Willow, and then moving to one side.

Willow remembered that day too. It had taken some time, but she remembered that day. She remembered Giles holding onto her, she remembered saying that she forgave him. Willow took a step towards Giles while she remembered all the times they had together, she remembered the last few seconds they shared. And as Giles took in Willow for a hug, both man and girl couldn't help but let tears flow down their cheeks.

"You brought me back," whispered Willow as she tightened her hold on Giles, who said that he had a lot of help.

And they remained like this for a few more seconds before stepping back. Giles nodded his head as he stepped back while Althanea told the young girl that it was time to leave. Willow looked over at Buffy, who wrapped her arm around the white haired young woman's arm. At the same time, Giles and Xander said that they would collect the rest of their bags before heading home to Buffy's home.

"I'm sorry, you know," whispered Buffy as she and Willow followed Giles and Xander, who were already at the baggage carousel with Althanea. Willow turned to Buffy, who was looking at the floor, and then sighed before looking up at her best friend, "do you remember what you told me when… I mean, after Oz died?"

"Yea," Willow whispered.

"You were right," said Buffy, "if I killed Angelus when I had the chance, maybe Oz wouldn't have died, and you wouldn't have been… I mean…"

"Yea," whispered Willow nodding her head slightly before looking away at the colourful carpet.

"You look good," said Buffy after she lifted her head away from the carpet and glanced over at Willow; the Slayer was very aware that she didn't know what to say. Her best friend was back, but she didn't know what to tell her… all she could do was hold on to her arm. Buffy was afraid of losing her again so soon after getting her back in her life.

"Thanks," replied Willow as she stared at the carpet again, before turning to look at Buffy.

Althanea looked over her shoulder at Willow and Buffy walking towards them arm in arm. To everyone else, it seemed as if the two girls… the two best friends, were walking together and rekindling their friendship. But they didn't sense what Althanea was sensing. As Xander told Giles that Willow and Buffy seemed to be getting back to where they once were as best friends, Althanea could see that Xander's observations were wide off the mark; Willow was being cold.. she could feel her anger, and Buffy was being nervous.

"Althanea," said Xander who tapped on her shoulder, breaking he eyes away from the two young women before turning to Xander who was holding onto a bag they retrieved from the carousel, "is Willow really going to be alright?"

"Give her some time," answered the witch who glanced back at the former redhead, and then turned back to Xander, "this is something… you need to know that what happened to Willow is something vastly different than any of us experienced, that we're out of our element. Her experiences were… horrible to say the least. And I am very well aware that she hasn't told me everything. We need to be there for her as support, and let her recover at her own pace."

"But she is recovering?" asked Giles. He was the only one who was in contact with the Devon coven when Willow was in England, the young woman adamant that she did not want to speak to any of the Scoobies. IT was something the Coven agreed with, saying that she needed to recover who she was without external forces being forced upon her. Althanea did mention that Willow was pushing herself to regain her memories of who she was, and that had brought about more painful memories in the process. Giles wasn't told anything about Willow's stay in hell, ad he didn't want to push anything too far.

He was just happy that Willow had recovered enough to travel home to Sunnydale.

"This Borzan guy is… damn, dead-boy keeps on saying that he took care of that jerk," said Xander as he recalled waking up in the hospital injured after the severe beating that Borzan inflicted in him. He was stunned to find that Willow had left for England, and it was Buffy and Joyce who explained that she needed to get away from the Hellmouth so that she could recover her memories, and heal her psyche, and rebuild her humanity.

It was later on that Xander heard about Anya from Cordelia, who left soon after the incident with Borzan. She told her ex boyfriend that Anya was badly injured as well, but she wasn't as critical as him; and then Cordelia apologized.

"I should have known," she told Xander while sitting next to his bed, "I…"

"You couldn't have known, Cordy," Buffy assured her that day at the hospital, "it's not your fault."

Back in the present day, Xander said that Cordelia left Sunnydale again after Ira and Sheila's funerals; that she was in Los Angeles putting everything she was in her career, "she's trying to forget the memories of what she did with Borzan or Brian.. whatever his name is."

"Does she know he's returned?" whispered Althanea.

"She's terrified," answered Xander while Buffy and Willow were slowly walking towards them after standing around nervously. Xander wanted to continue saying that Cordelia was told that Willow was coming back, but she admitted not know how to face Willow after having dated Brian for months… all the while he was torturing Willow, or watching her be tortured, in hell.

And, as Cordelia boarded a plane to Hawaii, in Los Angeles, she was thinking the same thing. She looked at the clock, and knew that Willow should have arrived in Sunnydale. But she didn't know how to face her, and combined with the fact that Borzan somehow returned, Cordelia's was terrified to remain in Los Angeles. She trusted Buffy and the others to stop Borzan, but Cordelia was afraid that he'd come after her.

"Forgive me," whispered Cordelia before boarding the flight. As she entered the plane, Cordelia knew that she would know by tomorrow if the world ended, 'if they lose, then Brian will find me.. and kill me. But if Buffy wins, then I need to… how can I see Willow when… when… how can she ever forgive me for... for not knowing. I should have known… Buffy and Xander said it's not my fault and… and… I should have known."

Back in Sunnydale, Giles whispered to Althanea that Spike was terrified of Borzan as well while he lifted a bag off the carousel. He stopped talking about Spike when Buffy and Willow walked up to them, then Watcher noticing that Buffy was still holding onto Willow's hand. As they waiting for the last bag, Giles and Buffy gave Willow a quick rundown of what happened while she was away; the arrival of a new Slayer, the Mayor's plan to ascend.. which was stopped, and then they talked about the Initiative and their plans to weaponize demons for the military.

"Who killed Borzan?" asked Willow as she turned to Buffy, and then to Giles, "if Borzan's supposed to be dead, then…."

"Willow," said Giles he placed a hand on her shoulder, and at the same time, Althanea placed her arm on Willow's shoulder, and asked her to listen, "if it wasn't for him, then we couldn't have brought you back, and…"

"I don't understand," said a confused Willow as she looked at Althanea, her mentor, and asked hat was going on. Althanea told Willow that the reason she, and none of the Coven, revealed anything about what happened up to the moment of her return was so that she didn't get distracted from regaining her memories, as well as healing herself.

"It's Angel," said Xander gently as Willow turned to him, her eyes full of rage, "Willow, I… I know that…"

"Angel?" asked Willow jerking her arm away from Buffy, and her body from Althanea, "he… he…"

"He's the main reason you've come back," whispered Giles rubbing the back of his own head, "and… and he killed Borzan. The day you came back, one of his associates had a vision that you would be forced back to hell, while Buffy and Faith died. So he came, and warned us. It was his friend's vision that led us to a spell that got you back, and…"

"Is he here?" asked Willow panting as she gritted her teeth while glaring at Buffy, and then at Giles, and finally at Xander while Althanea rushed towards her and placed her hands on the young woman's shoulders, "is…"

"Willow," said Althanea in a stern tone as she looked into Willow's eyes, "calm down, I need you to stay calm."

"Did you know he would be here?" asked Willow looking at her mentor as she remembered screaming and sobbing over what happened in the mansion the day she was killed, and sent to Hell.

"I suspected," was the reply.

"He's staying away from you, Will," assured Buffy, "he said he'll stay far away, and that you won't see him. He'll be on another front, the vision that his friend got from the Powers said something about an army of vampires coming to town. Angel and his team are going to be fighting the vampires, while we sneak into the Initiative, and fight Borzan. You won't see him at all."

Willow closed her eyes and shook her head while Althanea hugged her. The witch whispered in Willow's ear that they needed help to fight Borzan, "and if Angel and his people could help? Then they should, Willow. Buffy did say he'll stay away from you, Willow… and we should trust her on that."

Althanea knew this was like walking into a mine field with Angel being present in town, something that she hadn't been told would happen. Looking back into Willow's eyes, Althanea asked her to be strong, "remember your training, remember Niko's training with the Circle, and you'll be alright."

Taking a deep breath, Willow nodded her head before saying that she need to get some rest.

"We should head home," said Giles while Buffy reached for Willow again, only for her to shake her head. The group then proceeded to head to the Summers house where the group had been staying for the sake of safety, at least until Borzan was taken care of.

 **Unknown Location, 1500 hours.**

Walking into a secured room, heavy footsteps hitting the floor, Borzan walked towards a console in a hidden section of the Initiative base… a section that only Walsh was aware of. He had stolen her data, including the data on experiments she had conducted on every Initiative agent, including Finn, who had already reached his peak. Borzan smiled as he went through the data in his mind while taking a seat behind the console.

He activated the monitors around the console and looked at the cells in the Initiative that were filled to capacity, and then turned on another monitor where there were hundreds of vampires gathered in a warehouse at the outskirts of the city preparing themselves for an assault on the city.

'The carnage will be tonight,' though Borzan to himself, 'all to welcome my 'It'. Then after her, I will find Cordelia, and rip her spine from her body.'

Borzan smiled at the destruction he would cause; the vampires would attack the city in the cover of darkness once it's nightfall, and the chaos in the Initiative would be the distraction he needed to lure in Buffy and the others. While he admitted that Willow returning to Sunnydale was a glitch in his plan – he believed that she'd be too broken to recover, especially after the murder of her parents – Borzan thought to himself that it was still a good thing that she returned. He had always wondered about her abilities, and now knew there could be a chance that he put it to his own use.

He was going kill Buffy and Faith, and then he would ensure that the demons kill the humans in the base, and vice-versa. He believed that after the massacre, he would bring forth a new army of human-demon hybrids from the body parts that were sure to remain. And in the event that the Slayers did prevent this particular plan from succeeding, he still had his vampires.

All four hundred of them.

The vampires would kill, and turn, people all over Sunnydale so that even if the Slayers did succeed in finishing off the demons in the Initiative, and helping the son to be besieged soldiers survive, then they still had to deal with a city full of vampires. He had every scenario planned out in his new mind, and all of them ended the same.

The complete and utter destruction of not only Sunnydale, but the Scoobies as well since they would have no back-up… and even if they did call out, it would be too late. Borzan knew his end game was going to be the opening of the Hellmouth, and bringing forth the legions of demons from Acathla's Hell. He would have the demons spread out throughout the globe killing and feeding on human beings. Borzan's smile grew when he imagined Willow chained to his throne of bones while demons brought Cordelia to him. He imagined twisting her neck, and then tearing her head off her body before holding it up to Willow.

Borzan imagined her screaming in anguish before he went on to break her again. The Earth was going to be his hell, and he was going to punish Willow… even force her to torture humans once again.

'And I will watch, and I will enjoy,' thought Borzan to himself. His plan was to cut power to the Initiative base, and in turn open the cells just after sundown. And then sit back and watch as, he hoped, the two Slayers and their friends would go to the aid of the soldiers. Borzan knew that whether he failed or succeeded as far as the Initiative was concerned, he would win the war.

Sunnydale would be his, followed by the Earth itself. And then, he would rule in Acathla's stead until his statue was found. And the demon released.

TBC.


	33. Chapter 33

**Crawford Street Mansion, 1410 hours.**

Angel was slouched forward on a couch as he faced the empty fireplace in the large living room of his former home. He knew that it was past time that Willow's flight landed and that Buffy, Giles, and Xander would have picked her up by now. His hands covering his mouth, and his eyes having a faraway look to them, Angel tuned out the young men and women who were at the table to his left discussing tactics, and thought back to that night – the night things changed for everyone. That was the only thing that he could think about every time he was in Sunnydale, and now with Willow having returned home, Angel wanted to beg for her forgiveness.

However, a part of him; a very large part, knew that it was never forthcoming.

Shaking his head of the thoughts of Willow forgiving him, Angel turned his head towards Lily and Doyle… the latter whose life was almost lost in a trap a few days ago. He had received a vision from the Powers of his own death at the hands of a demon, which led to Angel asking Giles for help in protecting Doyle. The help came in the form of Faith, who, together with his team, defeated the demon and prevented Doyle's death. Once Faith had left Los Angeles, Angel started to recruit more people to his cause – starting with a man named Charles Gunn. He and his crew of vampire and demon hunters operated out of Los Angeles, and it was something that Angel had been tracking for some time. The ensouled vampire introduced himself to Gunn by admitting what he was. After a few minutes of the obligatory fight between two misunderstood individuals, Gunn realised Angel wanted to protect people from the darkness that existed in Los Angeles.

And Gunn became a part of his team, and while a few members of his crew broke off in protest of the vampire hunter working with the deadliest vampire that had ever lived, the majority stayed. On the trip to Sunnydale, Gunn had brought twenty of his crew with him, with the others staying in Los Angeles and working out of Angel Investigations to watch over the city; and help the other former members of Gunn's crew if they needed help. Joining them in the Mansion was Wesley, who would be liaising with Buffy and the other Scoobies due to be breaking into the Initiative later that night.

Angel and his team were tasked with preventing one part of Doyle's vision from coming true; the marching of the vampire army into Sunnydale. It was a few days ago that Doyle had come to Angel with the vision of Borzan still alive in the body of a half human-half demon mechanical monstrosity, something that Angel couldn't believe at first. Angel insisted that Borzan was dead, that there was no way he could be alive especially since his head was long gone.

"Borzan's a high-level demon, Angel," Doyle said when they were still in Los Angeles with Lily and Gunn standing around them, "he's a hellspawn, he probably has ways to live that we're not even aware off."

Before making the call to Giles, his contact in Sunnydale since Buffy still was not talking to him, Doyle told Angel about the vampire army. Angel, Lily, and Gunn listened as Doyle told them about watching vampires killing people indiscriminately throughout the city and that he had seen Borzan break the necks of Buffy and Faith, before going on to kill the others. Once he had heard the whole story, he called Giles to warn him that Borzan was alive… and in the body of a half man-half demon machine. It was then that Angel noticed the silence on the other side of the phone line. What he didn't know was that Giles was stunned as he looked at Buffy, Jenny, Joyce, Faith, Anya, and Xander who were researching into the illegal experiment known as ADAM. Graham and Riley put their careers on the line by bringing the Scoobies information on Project ADAM from the Initiative, but it had nothing on why Doyle believed that Borzan was still alive by inhabiting Adam's body.

Giles then told Angel about Adam, and what they knew. He told the vampire that the Initiative had taken Borzan's body for experimentation and that he too had no idea how Borzan could be still alive. Buffy was about to protest against Giles revealing more information to the one who betrayed Willow, but Giles covered the mouthpiece and quickly told her, and the others, about Doyle's vision; about the vampires coming to the city, and about the upcoming disaster in the Initiative.

"The cells are being filled to over capacity," said Graham leaning forward while Faith was standing next to Buffy, "if Adam, or rather Borzan's, plan is to release them then…"

"Angel said that Doyle saw more human-demon hybrids being created," said Giles, "Borzan wants to release the demons and watch the two groups kill each other."

"What's his endgame?" inquired Jenny.

"Like any other demon," guessed Buffy shaking her head before she sighed, "take over the world. Giles, if Angel wants to help, then that's fine… I just don't want him here... at the house.."

And that's how Angel decided to be based at the Crawford Street mansion, with Wesley being the link to the other Scoobies. It would be later that day, the day he warned Giles about Borzan being alive, that the older Watcher called the Devon Coven and notified Althanea of the news.. and the possible results of Borzan being left unchecked. When Giles called Angel just before leaving for Sunnydale, the Watcher told the ensouled vampire that Willow and Althanea were on their way too… and that since Doyle's vision didn't involve Willow, there was a possibility that the white-haired young woman and her mentor would be key in the coming battle against Borzan and the vampires.

It was something that Angel agreed with; as well as Giles' request that he stay away from Willow… at least for the time being. However, over the phone pressed against his ear, Angel could hear Buffy shouting to stay away from Willow for good.

Back in the present day, Angel got up slowly from the couch and walked towards the group around the table. He knew that he wanted to beg Willow for forgiveness, but he also knew that Giles was right – Willow would never want to see him, much less speak to him. Perhaps for the rest of her life. The truth was that Angel had no idea what to do, but for now, he tried his best to push those thoughts away while he stood next to Lily.

They needed to find out the location of the vampires, and then try and strike first. If they could get the vampires off the board, then the team could help Buffy and the others with Borzan.

But they needed to find them, and then dust them all; and from what Angel could see on the map, there were thirty possible places to hide an invading force of Vampires marked out on the map.

"Let's go check these out," said Angel.

 **The Summers Home, 1500 hours.**

Buffy was the first through the door, and was met at the foyer by Joyce and Jenny, who told the blonde Slayer that Faith was with Graham and Riley in the basement, along with Anya; they were cataloguing their weapons supplies. Buffy nodded her head before running off down the hallway, she wanted to call for Faith and the others as Giles walked in with Xander behind him. He was soon followed by both Althanea and Willow, who gave a genuine smile towards Jenny and Joyce before hugging them.

"Welcome home, Willow," whispered Joyce into the young woman's ear as she held on tight. Willow nodded her head on the older blonde's shoulder before looking up the stairs at Tara who was walking down the stairs slowly, with a smile on her face.

"Hi, Willow," said the young witch as she reached the bottom step. Willow returned a small smile before pulling away from Joyce just as Buffy returned with a few people behind her. Willow recognised one of them; she remembered the dark-haired young woman being there during Borzan's initial attack at the hospital, but the young woman's name escaped her.

But not for long, however. Buffy introduced Faith as the newest Slayer to be called after Kendra's death; leading the dark haired Slayer to nod at Willow. Buffy then introduced Graham and Riley, followed by Anya. Willow noticed Xander placing his arms around Anya's shoulder before the woman nodded her head while saying that she and Xander were together and that she couldn't have him. Willow couldn't help but release a chuckle as Buffy rolled her eyes, while Xander gave Willow a small smile. It was then that Jenny closed the door behind them while Giles and Xander, who let go of Anya, took Willow's bags up to the guest room as ordered by Joyce.

Taking a deep breath, there was one thing that Willow hadn't thought about the entire time she and Althanea were on their trip; the question of where she was going to stay. She was in her happy place nearly the entire time during the flight to the States, except when she was flying over Sunnydale and hadn't even thought about her living arrangements.

'Or do I want to stay here?' thought Willow to herself while Riley was telling Buffy that Wesley called, that they and Angel's team were going to check out hiding places for the hundreds of vampires.

"Wesley?" asked Willow confused while looking around. She tried to search for this Wesley, but all she saw were the people she had just met. It was then that Tara said that Wesley was their contact with Angel's group and that he was with the ensouled vampire. Nodding her head, Willow then asked what their plan was to take care of Borzan.

"Perhaps you and Althanea should take a rest for an hour, or…"

"Borzan's pure evil, Giles," said Willow as she looked at the Watcher, while Althanea looked at the ground, and then at Willow whilst recalling whatever details Willow gave her about Borzan during their sessions in Devon. Althanea knew there was more to Willow's knowledge about Borzan. As she stood next to Willow, Althanea recalled Buffy telling her that during the attack at the hospital, Borzan mentioned that Willow was his 'it'. Althanea could only guess at the meaning of the word 'it' given the state that Willow was in when she arrived on Earth, but the former redhead barely talked about Borzan. Althanea could see rage and anguish mixed together when Borzan's name was mention at the Devon Coven. So Althanea didn't push Willow, she wanted the white haired young woman to reveal everything at her own time. She listened to Willow telling them the same things that she had told her; Borzan was powerful, evil, destructive, manipulative – and it was on that word, 'manipulative', that Althanea and Tara glanced at each other… the both of them able to see the anguish in Willow's aura. Willow told them that she didn't want to rest, she wanted to kill Borzan, "he needs to be destroyed, fully destroyed."

Faith recognised the anger and pain in Willow's eyes as well. Ever since she walked through the hallway and nodded at the former redhead, Faith had been sizing her up. She recognised the anger, the hate, and the sorrow in those eyes and in the hands that were turned into closed fists; fists so tight that the knuckles were turning white. Faith recognised those signs because it was something she had seen in her own eyes when she was living in Boston every time she looked at herself in the mirror. But Faith also knew that whatever Willow experienced was a thousand times worse than she ever did when staying with her drunk mother.

"Hey," said Faith taking a step forward with her hands in her pockets. Willow and everyone turned to the dark haired Slayer who then said, "how about we get something to eat. And then we talk about dropping Borzan. I don't know about any of you guys, but I'm hungry."

"Faith's right," added Tara as Willow turned to her, "you… you should at least eat."

"Come on, Willow," said Joyce stroking the back of Willow's head, "let's get something to eat. Angel's team is searching for the vampires, Buffy's got the weapons ready in the basement, and…"

"Giles," interrupted Willow who shook her head. The young woman didn't want to waste any time, even though she found herself being hungry, "do you have my badge?"

"Yes," he answered as Joyce turned to Giles who was fixing his glasses, "once you agreed to return, Anya teleported to Dr Lee's lab but… but it was the day that the lab was being moved to another location. Anya got what she could into the badge, Willow."

"Should be enough," said Willow as she relaxed her hands, "I just need to access my clairvoyance."

"Buffy told us about what happened during Halloween," said Graham while Riley nodded his head, "so it's true? I mean about the whole being able to see the future thing?"

"Yeah," replied Willow, who was wondering what her life would be like if she didn't have Niko's powers, knowledge, and memories. But she pushed those thoughts away and felt herself getting calmer. Glancing at Tara walking towards her, Willow wondered if it was the blonde's doing; keeping her calm. Willow then turned towards Giles and asked him if he had the badge with him.

"Don't you need to know about the body that Borzan's inhabiting?" asked Riley.

"All I need to know is that Borzan is here," replied Willow as she glanced over at Riley, "is the body he's inhabiting a friend of yours? I mean the human half?"

"Actually a human-machine-demon hybrid, but…"

"Then it doesn't matter," said Willow shaking her head, "he's dangerous even if he's inside a cat. He needs to die, and…"

"Angel already burned the head," said Buffy, "all I know is that the Initiative took the body away from the hospital."

"We stole the records that documented his creation," said Riley, "but there was nothing on Borzan, or what the scientists did to place Borzan somehow into ADAM's body."

"ADAM? The name of the hybrid?" asked Willow as Graham nodded his head. Willow then turned to Giles and asked for her badge again. She then turned to Jenny and Joyce and asked them to leave town, that they needed to be out of danger. However, the both of them told Willow that Buffy, Faith, and Giles had already tried to convince them… but they were not going anywhere. Willow shook her head before frowning at the two of them, "Borzan will kill you to get to Buffy and Giles. He will torture you, he will.. will make those you care about to watch as he picks you apart and…"

"Will," said Buffy sternly. But Willow turned to Buffy saying that Jenny and Joyce needed to know what they were dealing with. She then turned towards Joyce and Jenny once again.

"He will watch as other demons tear you apart," said Willow as her anger flared, it was something that Tara and Althanea sensed. Tara recalled the dream she had when she was in Willow's hospital room, it was a dream that she hadn't told anyone since she felt it best that Willow revealed it at her own time, but now.. as she listened to Willow… her skin started to crawl, "he will laugh at the pain."

"Willow," said Giles shaking his head as she turned to look at him.

"You don't get to not hear this, Giles," hissed Willow. It was something that surprised Giles as he looked at the rage etched on her face. She then turned to Buffy and told her the same thing before turning to Joyce and Jenny, "I experienced first-hand what he's capable of. Can you imagine? Dying and resurrecting multiple times in hell, each time you wake up.. you feel the pain of your organs being ripped out of you while Borzan laughs."

"Oh dear lord," muttered Giles before he looked at Althanea. The woman looked back at him with sadness before looking away and walking towards Willow. She lay her hands on the former redhead's shoulders before whispering at her to calm down.

"They have faith in Buffy and the others, Willow," said Althanea, "I need you to calm down, just calm down."

Willow looked over at Althanea before taking a deep breath and closed her eyes. She shook her head and was about to say something else when she felt someone holding onto her hands. Opening her eyes, she saw Joyce, with tears in her eyes, looking back at her before placing a hand gently on Willow's cheek.

"I am so sorry, Willow," said Joyce as her voice broke.

"I just want you and Jenny to be safe, Joyce," whispered Willow, "I know what he's capable of, and.. and the best thing for Buffy and Giles would be for the both of you to get out of Sunnydale."

"Would anywhere be safe, Willow?" asked Joyce gently, "Doyle said that he saw hell on Earth. That Borzan would kill Buffy and Faith, and then all of us... and after that, he takes over the Earth by releasing hell."

"I…" said Willow closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"Willow," said Joyce gently, asking her to open her eyes, "the reason Jenny and I don't want to leave is because if we have to die, we'd rather die with the people we love. If Borzan takes over, there's going to be no place to hide – no place to run. It would by us some time, but he'll come after us. And we don't want to die alone."

"If he brings hell," said Willow, "he will torture all of us."

"We'll take the risk, Willow," said Jenny as Giles ran up the stairs and then turned to the left. She looked at Anya, Riley, and then at Graham who nodded their heads. She then turned to Joyce.

"I can't lose you too," whispered Willow.

"We'll win, Willow," said Buffy as she walked over to Joyce, and held Willow's hand, "Doyle's vision had nothing about you, so you're the one that makes the difference. That's how I know we'll win."

"Willow," said Giles as he ran back down the stairs, and then handed Willow the Ranger badge, "do what you need to do."

Willow looked down at the badge and remembered the very first day that Niko graduated from the Academy. She was walking up the stairs to the stage, and then down to the dais where she received a small, oak box. Willow remembered Niko opening the box to reveal the badge which proved she was finally a Galaxy Ranger. Back in the Summers house, Willow took in a deep breath and then pressed down on the badge. There was the sound of a click, followed by a rush of the Alpha radiation flowing into her Series Five implant and activating her clairvoyance abilities. Willow could feel the already low charge on the badge vanishing as she saw hell on Earth. She saw Borzan, in the hybrid body, throwing her against a wall before tearing Faith in half. She then saw herself tackle Borzan to the ground while Buffy, whose eyes were golden in colour, ducked as Willow was thrown to the side. As she flew in the air, before hitting the wall again, Willow saw a green coloured object on the ground. Then everything went dark before seeing a warehouse full of vampires; it was dark and they were already storming out of it and into the city. Then Willow was back in the fight against Borzan with his fist through Buffy's chest. She heard Borzan roar before dashing towards her, and then everything became dark again.

And Willow found herself in the foyer again surrounded by Buffy and the others. The Alpha radiation charge on the badge exhausted before Willow placed the badge into her jeans pocket.

"I know where the vampires are," said Willow as she tried to Althanea, and then to Tara. She then turned towards Buffy and told her that there was another problem, "even with me, everyone dies."

"Then we change the future," said Riley.

"My clairvoyance always comes true," said Willow looking at Riley, "I saw Acathla's portal open up in a vision, and it came true. I saw the Judge, and it came true. My visions come true, always."

"You didn't tell them about your visions then," said Anya, "now we know, and now we change the future."

"But first," said Giles, "I will call Wesley. And Willow? It would help them greatly if you could give me the details of the vampire's location."

"And then we order some pizza," said Faith, "and we make a plan for the Initiative."

 **Warehouse 41, Southside of Sunnydale, 1600 hours.**

It was four hours until the four hundred vampires in the large warehouse would have their chance to take over the city of Sunnydale. They were promised a bloodbath, and with the Slayers and their allies otherwise engaged, Borzan assured them that they would have all the humans they would ever need or want. The thought of a buffet of humans created a party atmosphere in the massive warehouse as music played while the vampires were dancing, celebrating their coming win.

What they didn't know, however, were the three people on the roof of the adjacent warehouse. The Vampires were so sure that the attack on Sunnydale was going to be a surprise, and a success, that they never placed guards out around the perimeter of the warehouse. The three humans; Gunn, Riley, and Graham picked up the three Rocket Propelled Grenade launchers; all taken from an Initiative weapons cache in Dumont Park. The two former Initiative members took three launchers and then met with Gunn… who Wesley said he would be sending to meet them at the address after having talked to Giles.

Riley used a thermal camera to confirm the presence of the vampires in the warehouse where all the windows were blackened before putting it down. He nodded at the others and then picked up the RPG's, placing them on their shoulders. Aiming the weapons at the warehouse, Riley counted down.

The vampires continued partying up until the explosion which took out a wall. They screamed at the sunlight which then poured in, dusting some of them while the others rushed for cover. However, there was a hiss in the air just before a massive explosion inside the warehouse that shook the entire building. The vampire saw their comrades dusted in the fireball, and then there was another massive explosion that dusted, even more, vampires. The ones that survived were trapped in the warehouse as it collapsed all around them.

Gunn, Riley, and Graham stood up and smiled at the rising dust cloud as the last bit of the warehouse collapsed. They knew that the sun in the clear blue sky would take care of the rest of the vampires, and even if some managed to escape – Angel and his team would be able to take care of the stragglers if any did manage to escape at night.

TBC.


	34. Chapter 34

**The Summers Residence, 1620 hours.**

It was done.

Riley and Graham returned home after dropping Wesley off at the Crawford Street mansion to find everyone having pizza. They saw Tara was taking a bite off a slice and making some tea on the stove, with Willow seated next to Althanea, while Giles and the other adults were leaning against the walls whilst eating pizza slices. Riley and Graham then told them about the destruction of the warehouse, they said that Angel would be taking his team out there in the evening in case any of the vampires survived. And if any did.. then they would be taken care of by the ensouled vampire and his team.

"What weapons do we have?" asked Willow as she looked at Riley.

"Swords, axes, crossbows," said Buffy as Willow turned towards her, "Riley and Graham managed to get some guns from some of the Initiative hideouts around the city."

Willow lingered on Buffy for a few more seconds before looking away at Riley and Graham, and then at Xander and asked if they still had the Rocket Propelled Grenade they used to destroy the judge, "we had two remember?"

"The other one's in the Magic Box," said Buffy looking towards Willow, "you think we're gonna need that?"

"We need everything we have, Buffy," Willow replied as a mixture of emotions went through her very being. On one hand, she had these murderous thoughts going through her mind as she looked at Buffy, but there was another part of her that felt upset at herself for having those thoughts. As Willow told Buffy that the AT-40 worked on the Judge, and that they had to hope that they could weaken Borzan enough to use the weapon successfully on him, she remembered being back in the Coven where she thought after numerous meditation sessions that she could handle being around Buffy; being around her friends. But ever since leaving the Coven, Willow had been conflicted with dark thoughts.. one of them being what she was thinking right now.

Willow imagined Buffy was on her torture rack in Hell while Borzan looked on, smiling in a corner of the room with the floor covered in blood. Willow looked down at the symbol on her chest, followed by the knife in her hand, and then up at Buffy who was begging the white haired girl to stop… that they are the best of friends. Willows stared at Buffy coldly before taking a step towards, followed by another step, and another, her bare feet making disgusting squelching sounds on the blood. She saw more people on different racks; Giles, Xander, Cordelia, and Althanea. A smirk appeared on her face tears fell down Buffy's face, and then Willow pulled her hand back while looking at the others, and then at Buffy.

Suddenly, Willow found herself in the kitchen where the others were already discussing tactics.

"I… I…." said Willow as her face paled before she got up from the kitchen island and rushed out the back door while Buffy and the others stared confused. Willow knew that her mind pushed her out of her thoughts just as she was about to plunge the knife into Buffy's abdomen with a maniacal smile on her face. Once she reached the back porch and closed the door behind her, Willow grabbed the banister and closed her eyes. Willow breathed in and out, in and out while willing herself to her happy place. Opening her eyes slowly, she found herself standing under the great green tree, looking out at the rolling hills as the sun gently caressed her face, and a warm breeze brushed past.. making the white skirt she was wearing flutter slightly.

Willow smiled and took in a deep breath of the clean air before sitting down at the base of the trunk, next to the thick roots that disappeared into the grassy ground. However, it was a few minutes later that she saw something that concerned her, the usually sunny sky was being covered with dark clouds. Willow started to pant as the warm breeze turned cold and the grass trend to black, and then to dust until the ground was barren and dry. She stood up with her eyes wide open as the gentle rustle of the green leaves above her stopped, the green leaves turning to orange, and then black, and then falling on her as dust.

"No!" screamed Willow as she looked around with her hands on her head while she was screaming 'no'. Her happy place was being corrupted, it was being destroyed… and the last vestige of it was nearly gone. The tree was starting to rot as she took a few steps back, it was rotting before it turned black and then crumbled into dust. Willow shook her head while she turned around and scanned the brown, barren, and cracked landscape while darker and darker clouds gathered over head.

It was then she looked down at her white dress which vanished, leaving her in loose rags, and then that vanished. She covered herself with her arms while tears fell from her eyes. She looked at the scars down the front of her naked body, and screamed in anguish.

She then heard a laugh on her left, and the next thing she knew was that she felt a hand smash into the side of her head; she was sent flying into the air, landing on the rough ground with a thud. She looked up, and saw Borzan in his black suit and red tie looking at her just as a predator was looking down on its prey. Willow saw him lick his lips before he crouched down and tilted his head.

"It," he said.

"Ho.. how…." Stuttered Willow as she stared at her tormentor. She thought that she was brave, Willow recalled talking to Joyce and Jenny back in the house which such confidence.. but facing Borzan now, she knew her bravado was a fake. Her entire body was shaking as she remembered her torture at his hands, she hadn't gotten over her fear… she was in fact still terrified of him.

"Come to me, it," Borzan hissed while calling her to him with his finger; he remained crouched down and staring at Willow, "you will come to me, and I will kill you all. You cannot escape, you will cower like you are doing now, and you will watch all of them die."

"Stay away," said Willow as she looked at the cracked ground while on her hands and feet, and away from the demon in front of her.

"I will bring hell here, and…"

"Willow," said a gentle voice as the former redhead suddenly felt sunlight touch her head, and then her face. She saw the ground once again covered in green grass, and she was wearing the white dress from earlier. The young woman then looked up upon feeling the gentle breeze, and tears welled up in her eyes, and a smile formed as she saw the man she loved standing in front of her with a pair of jeans and plain T-shirt, reaching out a hand towards her.

Willow's bottom lip quivered as she reached up, and grabbed the offered hand, which then pulled her up to her feet.

"Oz?" asked Willow before her voice broke, "are you…"

"Still dead," he smiled before Willow hugged him tight. Her hands roved his upper back to make sure that he was real, and then she took in his scent, and ran her hand through his hair. Willow didn't care about her surroundings, all she cared about that she was hugging Oz. She felt one hand on her back, and then another hand running through her hair; and tears fell from Willow's eyes and onto his shoulder, staining his shirt. This was real, it wasn't a dream… Oz was really here with her, "shhh, it's ok, Will."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice broken before she started to sob, "I'm so sorry!"

"I knew what I was getting into," whispered Oz into her ear, "it's not your fault, and it's not Buffy's fault… it was my choice to join you guys. I never stopped thinking about you the whole time, Willow… I never stopped."

"I'm still afraid," said Willow as she looked into his eyes, "I… why didn't you come to me?"

"You were doing so well, Will," Oz admitted as he caressed her cheeks, "when you came back from Hell, you were doing so well in Devon that I knew you didn't need me."

"But I did," she admitted, "and I do."

"You don't," said Oz, "not anymore."

"I love you so much, and…" Willow couldn't finish what she was about say when, suddenly, Oz pulled her in and kissed her. Willow moaned into his mouth as they continued to kiss, while Oz unzipped the back of Willow's dress. Willow continued to kiss him while he brushed his fingers up and down her bare back, and then his hand rested on her shoulder. He broke the kiss and then went down onto her neck while Willow ran her hand through the hair on the back of Oz's head. She breathed in and out while he moved down to her shoulder, and then back up to her neck, and then her ears.

"I love you," breathed Oz into Willow's ear, "I love how your ensouled flesh tastes, my it."

Willow opened her eyes wide as she turned her head towards Oz, who was looking back at her with a grin, and familiar red eyes. She looked on in horror while he was still holding on to her as Oz's face melted away to reveal the demon, while the surroundings of bright light and green reverted to darkness and the barren, cracked ground.

"Get away!" screamed Willow as she gritted her teeth and mentally pushed Borzan off her. Tears in her eyes at the gall of the demon to take the image of OZ, and her own stupidity at being used once again, Willow glared at the demon who stood up, his suit forming around him while licking his lips as Willow shook her head and fell on her knees.

"You're broken, It," said Borzan, "look at you, you see your love and you get so weak."

"You…"

"Shhhh," said Borzan with his finger on his lips before Willow could finish what he wanted to say, "you will end, It. You, the Slayers, the witches, the mother… the mother, Joyce, will be special. I will take her while you and the others watch, and then I will kill them in front of you once I bring Hell here. Imagine the pain, 'It'. I will bring back your pain. You will become insane… an animal. You will never die, even when your humanity is completely shattered, you will never die!"

"You will be stopped," hissed Willow as her heart raced, her hands clenched into fists, the fear she felt lowly melting away to rage, "I…."

"I will see you soon, my It," smiled Borzan before he vanished, and Willow snapped her eyes open to find herself back in the Summers backyard. Releasing a sob while covering her eyes with one hand, Willow internally screamed in anguish as she imagined Borzan's smile. Willow breathed in and out deeply while she imagined what Borzan had just done, he had called her weak, which she acknowledged for that one moment. At least that is what she kept on telling herself as she stood up. During her recovery at Devon, she used her happy place to escape, to gather herself when things got too difficult… but now it was destroyed. It was something she would have to rebuild, but only after Borzan was gone; being in Sunnydale brought him into her mind since he was a powerful demon after all.

'Oz is gone,' thought Willow to herself as she closed her eyes once again, 'he's gone and never coming back. Borzan used Oz to get to me, and he did.. he made me realize that I'm still terrified of him. All my fears came rushing back when I had him in my mind.. it wasn't like my vision… I could feel him this time, I could feel his power, his evil. He used me again and… and not anymore. He used my love for Oz to get to me, that won't happen again. He will not use Oz like that ever again.'

Willow clenched her fists tight while whispering as she opened her eyes, "no more, Borzan. If you can hear me, no more. I am terrified of you, but you made a mistake. You used someone I love to screw with my mind… and I will use my terror to fuel my anger. I will channel every fear I have to end you… I will use everything the Circle taught me to end you."

Back in the house, Buffy was about to get up and stay with Willow, who she could had stood up again after a few minutes, her back facing the Slayer, when Althanea gently asked her to stay, "Buffy, you and Faith need to prepare for tonight."

"But…"

"Buffy," said Giles gently as the blonde Slayer looked over Althanea's shoulder at Willow, and then at Giles, "we have time until the battle at the Initiative, and until then we need to prepare ourselves. Riley, Graham? Have a bite to eat and then we should begin preparations for getting into the Initiative. In the meantime, we need to have something prepared to use against Borzan, we need…"

"Too bad we simply can't use all of us at once," said Xander as he walked towards the back door, and looked through the glass at Willow. He looked at his old friend, and then noticed the silence around him, looking back at Giles, he was astonished when the older Watcher said that he may have had a great idea.

"G-man?" asked Faith.

While Giles was telling them about a spell that could funnel all of their strength, skill, and abilities into a Slayer, Tara finished making the tea and walked towards the rear door. She heard Giles say something about needing a very powerful witch to handle the spell, and that they had two in Tara and Willow. Tara stopped, and then turned towards Giles, who was looking at her, and said that Althanea was powerful as well, but it would help if a younger witch were able to perform the ritual since they would be able to handle the strain of the unification spell.

"You and Willow have the power," said Giles, "and the both of you have the skill, fortitude, and in Willow's case, thanks to Niko, you both have the experience in handling magic."

"I sensed Willow's magic, Mr. Giles," said Tara, "she's much more powerful than me, and…"

"This spell," said Giles, "it'll connect those who participate in the ritual, it would connect our essences to that of the Slayer. It's extremely powerful, and…"

"And Willow's seen things that… that no one should ever see during her time in hell," Althanea said while emphasizing the fact that Willow's mind will be open for everyone to see if they join together, "we'll wait for her to tell us, but for now, I'd say that you, Tara, is our best bet."

"I…" said Tara whose eyes were side open in surprise as she held the warm tea in her hand. It was just then that the backdoor opened, and Willow stepped inside before closing the door behind her. She looked at Buffy, and then at Xander, Giles, Faith, Anya, and the others before looking at Althanea.

"Borzan knows I'm here," muttered Willow as Althanea and the others looked on in surprise.

"How?" asked the older witch.

"I went to my happy place," said Willow before explaining what it was to Buffy and the others, while Tara nodded her head before handing the tea to Willow. Whispering her thanks, Willow took a sip form the cup, and felt the liquid warm her up from the inside out after swallowing the sip. She looked at Tara who took a seat at the island before telling everyone that she had her own happy place after her mother died.

"Some place I went to so that I could slowly get over being alone," said Tara while she looked at Willow, and then looked away while brushing some stray strands of hair behind her ear. This was a revelation that the other Scoobies were not aware of, as far as the blonde witch's family life was concerned since she rarely talked about them.. even when asked, "I used to go there a lot when I stayed with my brother, dad, and my cousin; before coming to Sunnydale. And.. yeah…"

"Tara," said Giles, "you…"

"I know I haven't talked about my family and… and right now it's not a biggie, you know?"

Althanea knew that for someone to come up with a 'happy place' meant that they lived a harsh life. It was something that she felt she needed to talk to Tara, bout.. but that would have to wait. Walking up to the young blonde witch, Althanea asked her if she'd like to talk once Borzan was taken care off, and smiled when she nodded her head.

Willow and Tara then looked at each other, and it made the former redhead wonder what could have been so bad about Tara's life that she needed to have a 'happy place' of her own. But it was something was going to have to ask later while telling her that she shouldn't visit her 'happy place', "Borzan shredded mine. Everything's gone, all turned to ash."

"Even the tree?" asked Althanea.

"The tree too," replied Willow nodding her head, "he used Oz to get to me."

"Oh God," said Joyce, "Willow, I'm so sorry."

"The truth is that I'm terrified of him," admitted Willow as she looked at Althanea, who told Willow that no one's expected her not to be afraid, "I went into my 'happy place' and he destroyed it because I… I had thoughts in my head. Thoughts that…"

"Will?" asked Xander.

"Doesn't matter now, I guess," whispered Willow as she looked at the floor, and then back up at Xander as she imagined gutting him, "you guys were in my mind. That's all. We need to make a move soon."

"We have a plan," said Buffy, "and according to Giles, it's a real doozy."

 **Initiative headquarters, 1940 hours.**

It had taken some time for Willow to be brought up to speed on the plan; and once she had been, she and Althanea headed up to the second floor with Tara, the three of them meditating for a few minutes to center themselves for the coming battle. Tara and Althanea were using their own techniques, while Willow used those of the Circle of Thought. Now knowing that Borzan was able to invade her mind, Willow used Niko's mental techniques and built up mental walls, and even more walls within walls while she imagined sitting on the fields of Xanadu among the multi-coloured trees and plant life with Ariel sitting in front of her.

Once the three of them had completed meditating, they went back downstairs with Tara being briefed by Buffy and Faith on what was going to happen next, while Willow went down to the basement with Graham and Riley to check out the weapons they had brought with them.

"So you have Niko's memories too?" Graham asked as he took out a nine milometer weapon, "she was some kind of a space…"

"Ranger, Galaxy ranger," said Willow before looking over her shoulder at the footsteps coming down the stairs. She gave a small smile and nodded at Xander as he reached the bottom step before asking if she wasn't going to be joining the others upstairs, that they could need her for the magical parts.

"I have a connection with Borzan, Xander," said Willow shaking her head after turning towards him, "I'm scared that if I use magic while he's here, then he'll take it over, and then use me against you. Xan, I… I saw things in Hell… I.."

"I know," whispered Xander as Riley and Graham looked each other before suddenly feeling as if they shouldn't be here. However, they still had to go through the weapons check one more time to make sure that everything was in working order before the attack. So they continued silently, occasionally glancing at Willow as she told Xander that she feared Borzan using her magic to try and harm him.

"All my thoughts.. I… I'm afraid of what he'll do, I'm afraid that if he can still read my mind as he did in Hell, then.. then I have to relive all the horror for real," whispered Willow while looking away as she imagined Xander on her torture rack, with her skinning him alive while his screamed reverberated through the walls of the large room, "there are some things that I can't tell anyone."

"I'm here if you need to talk, Will," said Xander before he kissed her cheek, "I'm right here, and so is Buffy."

Willow nodded her head before Xander told Riley and Graham that he'll see them upstairs. Willow then watched the young man dash up the stairs, and close the door behind him while she glanced over at Riley and Graham, the both of whom were occasionally glancing at her before going on to do their work. She then sighed, walked towards them and said that Niko had to practice with ammunition rounds before graduating to a pulse blaster; with her weapon of choice being a shotgun, both an energy variant with powercells, and a variant that used twelve gauge shells.

"Think you can handle this?" asked Graham as he threw an unloaded shotgun at her. She grabbed in mid-air before spinning it in her hands and then aiming it at a corner of the basement. Riley whistled as she put the weapon down, before she caught the box of shells which was thrown over to her by Graham.

"This is what I… she… I guess we're one and the same, used during training," said Willow as she looked at the box of ammo in one hand, followed by the shot gun in the other hand. While she helped them to check the other weapons, with the two military men giving the white haired young woman facts and tips on the various weapons around them, Tara and the others were topside getting prepared for the assault later on that night. Once Willow was back upstairs with Riley, Graham, and the weapons; Giles told Althanea to stay with Joyce, Anya, and Jenny in the house, and that she needed to put up a magical shield that would prevent anything from getting through.

Althanea nodded her head just before Willow hugged her, the both of them whispering in each other's ears for the other to be safe. Nodding her head, Willow stepped back and then headed out of the house with Tara, and Giles by her side, with Buffy, Riley, Faith, and Graham leading the way. They got into Joyce's jeep, and Giles' new Volvo before leaving for Lowell House, the fraternity which was in reality the primary entrance to the Initiative complex underneath the university.

The drive there was quiet, with Willow recalling what Borzan had nearly done while disguised as Oz. She closed her eyes and looked away from the window, however, she hadn't seen Tara glancing at her while feeling the rage emanating from the young woman. Tara wanted to reach for Willow's hand to reassure her that she was going to be alright, but the truth was that even Tara wasn't sure that they would be alright or not. The plan was to get as close to Borzan as possible, and then she, Giles, and Xander could begin the ritual. In the meantime, Faith, Graham, Xander, Riley, Buffy, and Willow would be going after Borzan. However, the first roadblock was getting the army to trust them…. And all of them knew that it would be nearly impossible.

And it was.

Buffy and Riley used their credentials to get access to the Initiative, and the entire group was captured and taken to the Commander of the base once they reached the main lobby. The Colonel in charge told the group that they were committing an act of treason and that they were all looking at jail time in prison due to the break-in. Surrounded by armed personnel who caught them, the group had their weapons confiscated, including the things they needed to perform the ritual. Willow glanced at the monitors behind the consoles while they were being frisked in front of the Colonel and frowned at the screams from the cells which were stuffed to the brim with demons of all kinds.

"You don't know what you're doing," said Buffy as she jerked away from one of the soldiers.

"You do not get to speak!" ordered the Colonel as he glared at Buffy, and then at Graham and Riley who were both classified as deserters, and thus, were traitors to the cause in the Colonel's mind.

"You're facing a demon in your robot Adam," said Faith, "you…."

"The Army will deal with Adam.. and…."

"He's occupied by a demon, sir," said Riley.

"Borzan," added Graham as the Colonel turned to him, "Sir, we need to get out of here and activate emergency protocols. Borzan wants all the demons to…"

Suddenly, the lights turned off, and the red emergency lamps on the walls turned on, as well as a few of the monitors which showed the cell doors opening. Willow and the others looked on in horror at the demons escaping into the hallways killing soldiers. Willow turned towards the Colonel who was about to say something while pointed at their direction, and the young woman then mentally threw him and the soldiers against a wall.

"They'll live," said Willow as Graham and Riley ran past the white haired young woman who rushed to a computer and pressed a few keys. She then looked at Buffy saying that all the cells in the complex were open, and that she was looking for a place where Borzan could be hiding out. The Scoobies could hear growls and screaming in the distance, followed by weapons fire as Willow continued to check the schematics of the Initiative base.

And then she found what seemed to be a location where large amounts of power was being channelled, and she got up and pointed it out. It was a location behind one of the labs, a secret entrance that led to another room that seemed to be blacked out, and that room led to another blacked out room.

"What about the others?" asked Riley as he pointed at the running battles going on in the base.

"We don't take care of Borzan now?" said Buffy, "then the people here won't be the only ones who die. Riley, we need you and Graham to guard Tara, Giles, and Xander while they do the ritual. Willow, Faith, and me will be heading directly to Borzan and… and we'll need the unification spell to have a chance against him."

"They knew the risks," whispered Willow as Riley and Graham looked at her before she rushed up and picked up her shotgun, and ammo belt while Faith picked up her machete's and stakes, "Buffy's right, we don't kill Borzan now? Then everyone else dies anyway."

"We should go," said Giles as the Colonel and the other soldiers started to groan.

The group, with Buffy holding onto the rocket launcher under her arm, headed for the lab with the secret passageway. On the way, Riley and Graham were telling them that Adam was powered by a plutonium power cell, that they needed to get rid of that cell… and then he would die. The entire journey was surreal as they fought various demons on the way; Faith and Buffy hacking their way through the two demons attacking them, and Willow mentally pushing away some of the ones that were going after them while Riley and Graham were firing rounds into fur covered monsters.

"Move!" Move!" yelled Riley as they continued to fire, while Willow mentally snapping the necks of some demons while firing at others with the shotgun in her arm. The weapon feeling familiar to her, as if she had been using it her entire life, while Tara was using her magic to push away some demons that were coming after them. All the while, the Scoobies were moving through what could only be described as a warzone; there was smoke everywhere, the smell of blood and flesh, bodies littered the hallways.. bodies of both humans and demons while more weapons fire and screams could be heard in the distance. The group finally entered a large complex where running battles were taking place between demons and humans all over the place with explosions on the far end killing demons while howling screams filled the air. Rushing to the lab, located behind a secured door, which Faith and Buffy kicked open… the group ran into the hallway while being pursued by some demons who had seen them. They killed the soldiers in their arms before dashing after the Scoobies, but were soon riddled with bullets as both Riley and Graham took up the rear and fire on them.

It wasn't long before they were in the lab. Riley and Graham blocked the entrance with a shelf, while Buffy searched for the secret entrance. Upon finding it, Tara told them that they needed to begin the ritual, and that it would take a few minutes to affect Buffy. Nodding her head, Buffy, Faith, and Willow then rushed through the passageway and headed into another empty lab. There were a few beds and machines, but everything was empty. Willow and the two Slayers then moved on, not wanting to waste any more time and soon reached a large room filled with consoles.

It was there that Buffy placed the rocket launcher on her shoulder while Willow, her eyes opened wide in shock at the organic-metal hybrid standing on the other side of the room, and Faith took a step back.

"Hello, my It," said Borzan with a smile as Willow clenched her hands.

"B," said Faith as she grabbed Willow's arm, "Fire!"

Everything went into slow motion as Buffy fired the RPG, just as Willow and Faith turned around. As the weapon flew towards Borzan, Buffy dropped the launcher and ran behind Willow and Faith. The ground shook as they reached the other secret lab, and dove into the left side of the room as a fireball funnelled through the hallway just missed them. Once the fireball had dissipated, Willow, Faith, and Buffy slowly got up with the smell of explosives, concrete, and flesh in the air as they slowly made their was trhough the hot hallway and into the other room. The three Slayers were in shock with their eyes wide open; it wasn't the destroyed consoles that got them, now was it the scorch marks on the walls with some of the panels from the ceiling hanging down and sparks flying everywhere.

No, that wasn't what had them in shock.

It was the smoking figure standing in front of them, as he tilted his head, and smiled.

"I am a lord of Hell, one of Acathla's lieutenants," growled Borzan as he strode towards the three who were rooted to the spot, "did you really think…"

Buffy was thrown to one side before Borzan turned around to Faith at inhuman speed and picked her up, and then threw her to the other side until she hit the wall, and fell to the floor. Willow, unable to move, felt Borzan's hand around her throat before being lifted up into the air. She was gasping for breath while her legs were flailing as Borzan laughed.

"Did you honestly believe that kind of piddly weapon could stop me? I have magic that even you, or your witch friend are aware of," growled Borzan glaring at Willow, and then at the groaning Buffy, and then to Faith, and finally.. back to Willow, "no matter, I have won. Hell will be open this day… and until then, I will have fun with you three."

TBC.


	35. Chapter 35

**Secret Room,** **Initiative Headquarters.**

Willow's legs were flailing as she gasped for breath while staring into Borzan's eyes; the half demon- half machine hybrid was holding her up by one hand before he pulled her in, and then swung his arm to the left before letting go of the young girl. Willow felt herself flying into Faith, who had already stood up before getting hit by Willow's body. The both of them fell onto the floor, Faith groaning while lying on her back, and Willow on her side on top of the dark haired Slayer.

Buffy saw the two crumple to the floor before she stood up straight and thought, 'come on, Tara' before grabbing the console, and then hopping over it, then landing on the other side. She took out a sword by her side and dashed towards Borzan. Laughing, he blocked the blade using his metal arm, and then pushed the sword away before swinging his flesh arm. Buffy ducked and swung the sword once again, leading Borzan to smile at Buffy before he grabbed the sword that was being swung towards his head, and then shattered the blade while tilting his head at the surprised Buffy.

Using the database of fighting styles in his mind, Borzan performed a roundhouse kick that Buffy managed to just block, before stepped forward and swinging her leg towards the side of his head. However, Borzan quickly grabbed her leg with his arm, and grinned. Buffy's eyes opened wide in horror as Borzan grabbed the leg tight while his left metallic hand retracted to form a mini-gun.

"I hate getting my hands dirty," said Borzan as he aimed the weapon at Buffy who was struggling to get her leg out of Borzan's grip. She stared at the barrels of the weapon that was aimed right at her, and then she looked at her leg, and then at Borzan himself. Her mind raced to find a way out of this situation when suddenly Borzan lifted his weapon hand towards the ceiling. Buffy and Borzan then turned their heads towards Willow as Faith jumped over the console, and then, once close to Borzan, she performed a flying kick with all her strength into his chest and pushed him back. That act released Buffy who stumbled back slightly while Faith fought Borzan, with Buffy soon joining her. Willow continued to hold on to Borzan's weapon hand while Faith and Buffy fought him… the former redhead not letting the demon's arm go since she was sure that was his only weapon.

Willow knew Borzan, she knew that the RPG firing at him would take a lot of his magic… that was his main weakness, he wasn't in Hell so he didn't have his full power. On Earth, he had a limit to how much magic he could use… Willow knew this, at least she thought she did. However, that knowledge didn't stop Borzan from using magic to push Buffy and Faith away, with Buffy slamming into Willow, who then lost her concentration as Borzan moved his weapon arm down. Willow could sense his magic, very powerful magic, coming in bursts.. and this time he used magic to pull Willow to him… his hand grabbing tight into Willow's neck again. Willow saw him smile before Buffy, who was lying in the open on the floor, was pulled away by Faith just before Borzan started to fire the minigun while tightening his hold on Willow's neck.

She smelled the stench of the gun powder from the weapon, as well as the stench from the hand that was holding onto her neck. Enraged, Willow used every bit of strength in her to mentally grab Borzan's arm gain when she sensed his magic ebbing away, and then jerk it upwards so that the minigun was firing at the ceiling. It was then that Faith, when the path was clear, jumped over the console she was hiding behind and punched under Borzan's arm, she used all her strength on the elbow, dislocating the arm which then automatically released Willow, who fell onto the floor.

And it was for that one moment, as Willow fell on the floor, with Faith running up to help her up to her feet… that Borzan aimed the minigun at the two young women with a smile on his face. Getting up on her feet, Willow crossed her arms in front of her as a circle of orange energy appeared, blocking the rounds that were being fired from the mini-gun.

"Stay behind me!" screamed Willow, the sounds of the gun firing drowning out her voice in the enclosed room. Faith was holding onto Willow's shoulders and looking with her eyes wide open at the shield flaring in front of them, the flattened bullets that hit the shield falling down onto the floor as Borzan laughed.

"It does not matter if you come with me alive, or dead, It," yelled Borzan, "Hell has your meat in storage for a thousand years. Either way, you were always going to be my personal meal."

"Shut up!" screamed Willow as she poured more of her telekinesis on the shield in front of her.

Just then, however, Borzan had something slammed into him, and he flew to the other side of the room… both him and the object hitting the wall and then falling onto the floor. Confused, Willow disengaged the shield before she and Faith turned to looked at Buffy, who was just standing still as her hands were clenched into fists, and her eyes were golden in colour. There was something else… something that Willow could feel in her very being; powerful magic was being used.

"B?" asked Faith as she narrowed her eyes at her sister Slayer.

"Buffy?" asked Willow as the blonde Slayer looked at her, and then the three of them turned to a laughing Borzan. They saw him get up to his feet, his eyes focused on Buffy, and then at Willow and Faith, and back to Buffy again as a smile developed on his face.

"Oh the little witch," said Borzan tilting his head while licking his lips, "I can feel her magic in the air, two others with her and… oh…. Interesting."

"This ends today." Willow and Faith looked at each other as Buffy spoke in a voice that seemed to be a combination of her own, Xander, Giles, and Tara all together in one body. They looked on as Buffy took a few steps forward while Borzan stepped sideways and began firing on Buffy herself. Before Willow could raise a shield around the Slayer, Buffy waved her hand and muttered a spell just before the bullets turned to confetti in the air.

And that action left both Willow and Faith stunned. Willow dropped her shield, and narrowed her eyes wondering if Buffy, the combination of all four minds, skills, and powers, could beat Borzan on her own. The former redhead hoped so; she remembered the vision she had in the Summers house of Buffy having those same coloured eyes before they faded away. She remembered Borzan's slamming hand through Faith's chest, and then Buffy's neck being broken… leading to Willow shaking her head off those images.

Willow then watched as Buffy waved her hand once Borzan raised the mini-gun at her and Faith… with Willow immediately putting up the shield. However, she found that there was no need to since Borzan, in a moment of genuine surprise, looked down at his weapon arm as the minigun was forced away, and his 'human' hand took its place.

"Interesting," smiled Borzan as he strode towards Buffy, "oh you and your little friends in your head will make a wonderful mate. Your power, and the power of my 'it' combined will be a gift for Acathla.

"You and your god cannot even begin to understand the source of our power," said Buffy as she and Borzan began fighting, with Willow and Faith stepping back as Buffy was beating on Borzan, punching and kicking him mercilessly until he was pushed against a wall. Borzan, blood already coming out the side of his lips leaned against the wall just as Buffy grabbed his throat, and squeezed, "like we said, this ends today."

"You think you have faced power," Borzan said calmly, "but you have not faced the real me yet. Ask 'it', she will tell you what I…"

"Silence," said Buffy as she smashed her hand into Borzan's chest. Faith pumped her fist into the air and screamed 'yes', while Borzan's eyes went wide in surprise as he looked into Buffy's golden orbs, and then at Willow glaring back at him. He them looked down at the arm that had gone into his chest, the demon feeling Buffy's hand grabbing the nuclear power unit powering his body.

"No, please," begged Borzan, his head shaking, "no… you.. you can't.. I…"

"You will never harm Willow or any of us, ever again," said Buffy just before she jerked her arm out of the cavity, and stepped back. She saw Borzan place his hand on the hole in his chest, and then fall onto his knees. The three of them then stared at the demon falling wordlessly onto the floor… his face forward, with a thud. Willow's heart was racing as Buffy turned around with the yellow case floating over the palm of her hand. When Willow saw the green light glowing from openings in the casing, she thought back to her vision; she was flying over a console after getting hit by Borzan, and the casing was on the floor. It was the last thing she saw after having seen Faith get torn in half.

"No, something's wrong," whispered Willow, Faith looked at her while Buffy uttered a spell in the combined voices of Giles, Tara, and Xander, "no.. no... Buffy!"

Buffy raised her head at Willow, her spell interrupted before turning around as Borzan started to laugh hysterically on the floor. He looked up at the stunned expression on Buffy's face, just before she was magically thrown onto a far wall, leaving Willow and Faith alone.

"Get out of here," said Willow as she looked at Faith.

"What?" asked Faith as the power unit fell onto the floor, exactly where Willow had seen it in her vision. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Buffy getting onto her feet.. and she knew it was a matter of time before the events in her vision came through.

"I had a vision you died!" screamed Willow as she pushed the Slayer away just before Borzan mentally started to choke the former redhead, and then started to pull her to him. Willow struggled to speak as she rose in the air while Borzan was laughing at how stupid all three of them were. Willow looked at Borzan, and used her telekinesis to hit his face, but to no effect. Willow then felt his mental grip tighten while she gasped as Faith started to dash towards them.

"Only one thing needs to be done to change the future," said a familiar voice as time seemed to stop around the former redhead. Willow, who was still being choked, shifted her eyes to a grey haired woman in a grey jumpsuit, "hello again, Willow."

"A… Ari… el," struggled Willow as she muttered her mentor's name, "I…"

"You can change the future if you wish," said the old woman as she fixed her heavy rimmed glasses, "change something, and the future itself changes. You blocked me out of your mind for a long time, Willow. It's time you faced everything that happened head on… that's what Niko would do as a Galaxy Ranger, and as my student. And I'll be here by your side all the way."

Everything around Willow then started to move again, and Faith was almost onto her. Willow felt herself being flung to another side of the room and, at the same time, she pushed Faith just out of the reach of Borzan's arm.. and flung her out into the hallway. Willow then hit the wall and flopped onto the floor while Borzan screamed.

"I am one of Acathla's lieutenants!" screamed Borzan as he strode past Willow, who was slowly getting to her feet, and towards Faith who was getting up to her feet in the hallway, "and none of you will escape my…"

There was the sound of a thud, followed by a bang, as Willow grabbed the side of a console and got to her feet. She saw Borzan being flung to a wall, followed by the enhanced Buffy dashing towards him and beating on him with one punch and kick after another. In the meantime, Willow turned to Faith, and told her to leave… and seeing the hesitation in the dark haired Slayers eyes, the former redhead screamed that she would die if she stayed, "I saw it! You get ripped apart, leave!"

Faith shook her head, and ran back into the room, ignoring Willow's pleas. At that exact same time, Buffy looked at Willow while attacking Borzan.. their eyes connected and the Slayer could see that Willow was being absolutely serious. Delivering one more punch, Buffy then turned and muttered a spell that teleported Faith to the same room where Tara and the others were being held, much to the surprise of Graham and Riley.

"Faith?" asked Graham, "what are you…?"

"Fuck! Buffy!" screamed Faith, interrupting her boyfriend, before she turned around again, grabbed an axe, and ran towards the secret passage leaving being a confused Riley and Graham. The both of them then turned their weapons towards the door where demons were doing their best to knock it down.

Back in the room, while Buffy's attention was momentarily turned away from Borzan in teleporting Faith out of the room, she found herself being flung into a wall by the demon. Hitting the wall, Buffy found herself being held in place magically and then, all of a sudden, the wall started to morph, with the concrete rippled as if it was a thick liquid. Willow used her telekinesis to try pull Buffy out of the wall, but Borzan's magic was more powerful, and eventually the concrete formed around her waist, hands, feet, and neck before solidifying.

"No!" screamed Willow as she attacked Borzan telekinetically. However, Borzan started to laugh just as the former redhead found herself unable to move after Borzan pointed a hand at her. He then turned to Buffy and mumbled a spell, and the Slayer screamed for a few seconds, as did Tara, Giles, and Xander, before her eyes returned to normal. Buffy was panting as she hung on the wall, with Willow looking back at her with her eyes widened in shock.

"You accessed the power of the Slayer," said Borzan as he pulled Willow towards him while staring at Buffy, who was now looking at him while trying to get her hands out of the restraints, "I broke you and your friends up… now it's just you."

Borzan then turned to Willow who was standing next to him, and trying her best to move; it was as if her whole body was tied with steel rope.

"Hell is coming," said Borzan as stroked the back of Willow's head while she looked at Buffy. She wanted to say something but found she couldn't move her lips; as if there was a vice holding her mouth shut. Willow shifted her eyes to Borzan, and then to Buffy again, "and I will make you, my It, a deal. I will keep all of your souls in your bodies… they will be the ones who will be tortured and harvested for food. The pain they feel will be exquisite... but you won't. You won't feel any pain… but only if you become one of Acathla's jailors again."

"Will?" asked Buffy when she noticed tears welling up in her best friend's eyes as she trembled, "Acathla's Jailer? I…. what's that?"

"She never told you?" asked a grinning Borzan as he looked between Buffy and Willow, "oh my, you haven't, have you, It?"

Borzan then turned to Buffy, and told her that Willow was one of Acathla's Jailers for a hundred years. He then explained that she was sickened by it at first, but she soldiered on and eventually, she was very good at her job.

"At what job?" asked Buffy, continuing to look at Willow, who was being forced to continue looking at Buffy's face.

"My dear Slayer," said Borzan as he walked back to Willow, and ripped the top section of Willow's short, revealing the brand on her chest. He then leaned in and licked Willow's neck, leaving the young woman to whimper in fear while closing her eyes, before he turned towards Buffy, "the brand is given to those who torture human souls in Hell."

"Will?" asked Buffy, her eyes open wide in shock, "I…"

"One soul after another," said Borzan as he looked back at Willow, and caressed her cheeks, "she used to puke for the first few session, but all of that paled to what she did as she went on. Making the souls scream for hours upon hours before they died and were resurrected… just as she was when we harvested her organs."

Borzan looked back at Buffy and told her that Willow would extend a human's pain, "and she'd like it. Did you know, there was one time she ripped out the heart of a human soul with her bare hands? It was simply exquisite.. and the heart was delicious too."

Borzan laughed while turning back to Willow as Buffy looked at her best friend. She couldn't imagine her doing the things that Borzan said she did. Buffy then heard Borzan telling Willow that if she stood by him, if she became Acathla's Jailor once again, then he would let her torture Buffy, Faith, Giles, Joyce, and all the others who betrayed her. The Slayer then saw a black dagger appear in Borzan's hand. He then turned to Willow with the dagger in his hand, and told her that she would be allowed to begin the torture early while he took care of Faith and the others.

"I will leave them unconscious, as should you with Buffy," said Borzan, "so when Hell comes to Earth, their souls would remain and… and you will have your fun. Remember, It, no more pain while your body is harvested.. and you get your vengeance for all eternity."

"Will," whispered Buffy as the former redhead looked straight at her, "I.. I.. I'm sorry about everything that…"

"Look at her beg, It," said Borzan as he let go of his magical hold on her, "look at her beg for forgiveness. She fears you, and…"

"Will," said Buffy interrupting Borzan just as Faith ran into the room with an axe in her had. Willow and Borzan turned towards Faith, who dashed towards Borzan.. leaving the demon waving his hand and then flinging her into a wall. The concrete formed around her hands, feet, waist, and neck.. just as it did for Buffy before Borzan turned to Willow, and handed her the jagged dagger.

"No pain?" asked Willow as she stared at the dagger, and then at Buffy, Faith, and finally at Borzan, "no pain?"

"None at all," said Borzan as he stroked her head, "I will even take out the brand on your shoulder; the one you received after betraying me. You get no pain, and you get to do what I've seen you enjoy doing… despite what you think about it. I know you enjoyed it, my It. You get to torture the people who betrayed you… the people who looked down…"

"We never looked down on her!" screamed Buffy, "you… you…"

"She enjoyed it," said Borzan as he walked towards Buffy, "I could see her humanity being chipped away every time she made them scream. You should see the room covered in blood and filth when she would torture them. While she held on to a little bit of her humanity then… she has no reason to now. Hell is coming here, and all of you are coming along for the ride. She will become the creature I believe she could be… a creature of anger and vengeance… and she is mine. She has always been mine since you and your friends sent her down to hell."

"Will," whispered Buffy, looking at Willow over Borzan's shoulder while she gripped the hilt of the dagger tightly in her hands, "I… I know you can't forgive me so easily… I know that. If… if you want to tor.. torture me for my mistakes, then do.. do it."

"Buffy!" screamed Faith as she struggled to get out of her restraints.

"Just, just don't harm the others," said Buffy as she looked directly at Willow, "Will, you're right… I should have killed Angelus, and I cannot change that. It's my fault… not Giles, or Xander, or mom, or Faith, or…"

"Then they will all die, Slayer," said Borzan, "they die now… starting with me ripping Faith in half."

Borzan then turned and ambled past Willow, who was still staring at Buffy, as a tear fell down her eyes while she remembered meeting the Slayer for the first time. Willow remembered meeting Xander for the first time, and then Giles, before she looked down at the dagger, and knew what she needed to do.

"Borzan!" yelled Willow as she, in a fluid motion, turned around just as Borzan did… all the while lifting the dagger from her hand with her telekinesis and into the air, and then letting it fly while Borzan's magic was at its low point. The blade screamed through the air just before it entered the human section of Borzan's head. The demon screamed in pain, his hand reaching for the dagger as Willow telekinetically broke the restraints that held Faith, and then she turned to Buffy and broke her restraints. Faith fell to the floor, and then ran towards Borzan, whose back was to her, and kicked the back of his knees and started to attack the still screaming demon. Buffy and Willow then went on a combined attack, Willow keeping him distracted by mentally punching him while Buffy grabbed the dagger and pulled it out of the head. She then slashed him from the front, while Faith picked up the axe she ran in with and plunged it into his back.

Borzan arched his back and screamed out loud before turning to grab Faith. But she ducked as Buffy threw the dagger at Faith, who grabbed it in mid-air before plunging it into the hole in the demon's chest.

"Get back!" screamed Willow as she mentally grabbed the dagger, and then started to slice all of his organs from the inside out, including the heart that was keeping Borzan while. The sharp dagger sliced through all of his organs as he screamed in pain while Buffy and Faith got back.

"How does it feel?" hissed Willow as she glared at Borzan screaming in pain as he turned back towards her, "this is what you did to me! The demon that entered through my throat and fed on my organs, the many times you killed me.. the pain I felt… do you feel my pain! I DESPISE YOU!"

Buffy and Faith heard squishing sounds from inside the cavity as Borzan continued to scream while black blood was pouring out of the hole in his chest. And then the screaming stopped when Willow shot the blade up into his throat.

"Die, Borzan," growled Willow as her eyes turned black in rage, "die… die… die.. die!"

The knife, covered in black blood, was then forced through his throat, and through his oesophagus, and through the back of his mouth, and then through his brain. The dagger shot out of the back of his skull… leaving a huge hole behind. Borzan rolled his eyes to the back of his head before falling forward, leaving Willow panting as blood trickled down her nose. Her eyes returning to normal, she turned to Buffy and Faith, who were looking back at her; then Buffy rushed to the young woman and hugged her while whispering that she was sorry.

"I did so many things, Buffy," said Willow as he voice broke, "I.. I tortured so many that… I.. I don't know.."

"We're here," said Buffy as she held on to Willow, "we'll help you to get through this."

"We need to burn the body first," said Faith as Buffy looked at her while Willow was crying on her shoulder.

"Get to Tara," said Buffy "she has everything we need, and then we evacuate who we can and get out of here."

As Faith ran through the hallway, Buffy held tight to Willow.

"It's over, Will," she whispered, "it's finally over."

TBC.


	36. Chapter 36

**The Initiative base, secret room.**

Willow was breathing hard as she hugged Buffy after admitted what she had done in Acathla's Hell. She felt Buffy holding onto her tightly; one hand on the back of her head, and another on her back. For Buffy, she was still in disbelief at what she had heard, she wanted to remember Willow as she was; the girl she had met in High School all those years ago, she didn't want to believe what Borzan told her about the torture and Willow's enjoyment.

But there was a part of her that knew it was true, a part that she was forcing aside… a part that she couldn't imagine that kept on shouting in her head that Willow tortured humans in hell, and that she enjoyed it. Buffy also knew that what Giles told them was true – they were never getting back the Willow that they had known in High School… she was gone. All Buffy could do was hold tight to her best friend now and help her through what was coming next; Buffy hadn't forgiven herself for not doing what she should have done to prevent all of this from happening in the first place; killing Angelus when she had the chance.

Buffy recalled being in despair, and enraged at Willow for hiding her powers.. she remembered tearing apart her room a few days after Willow's 'death', leading to Joyce slamming her room's door open to the sight of all of the blonde Slayer's belongings lying on the floor while Buffy herself fell on her knees sobbing. She kept on crying out, 'Willow shouldn't have done this… why did she leave me' as tears flowed down her cheeks with Joyce rushing towards her, and then hugging her.

And now after more than a year and six months, Buffy had Willow back; and the Slayer wasn't going to let Willow leave her again. Buffy pulled back and looked at Willow who turned away from Buffy, the blonde Slayer noticing a hint of anger in the white haired young woman's eyes just before she looked away, and wiped her eyes just as Faith returned with Tara and Giles. The both of them were rubbing the sides of their heads thanks to the feedback they experienced of having the spell that united all three of them to Buffy forcibly broken by Borzan.

"Tara," said Buffy as she looked back at her friend, who herself was looking at Willow who walked back to Borzan's body, "we need living fire to burn his whole body, including his armour, robotic parts, his organs, blood… it doesn't matter, everything that came out of Borzan needs to go."

"Got it," said Tara nodding her head as she rushed towards Borzan's body while slinging her backpack to her front, and then placing it on the floor after standing next to Willow. She got on one knee while Willow walked around Borzan's dead body, with Giles asking Buffy, who was still looking with a little bit of anxiousness at Willow, if she was alright.

"Ye… yea," she whispered looking back at Giles just as Faith rushed back to the main room where Xander and the others were calling for help.

"I'll go with them," said Willow as she glanced over at Tara who looked back at her and nodded her head. The white haired young woman then rushed past Buffy and Giles, following Faith out into the hallway and then into the main room. Faith was thrown a crossbow by Xander, who asked Willow if she was doing alright.

"Later," was the reply as Willow went over to the wall where she found a shotgun leaning against a wall just as there was the sounds of fists pounding on the door. She raised the weapon at the door when the metal shelf, that had been blocking the door from opening, was shaking. Eventually the shelf fell forward and hit the floor with a clang; then the door slammed open.

Faith and Xander fired their crossbows at the demons who were coming into the room one at a time through the doorway. At the same time as Faith and Xander were firing their crossbows, Riley, Graham, and Willow took up positions and fired their projectile weapons at the demons. The rounds pierced the bodies of the demons, together with the arrows from the cross-bows, and they fell on the floor growling in pain. The main room reverberated with the sounds of weapons fire while a stench of burning flesh wafted through the hallway from the secret room and into the one where the Scoobies were making their stand. The stench mixed with the stench of gun-powder as more demons fell one by one, with Willow using her telekinesis to snap some of their necks with reloading and then firing her shot-gun.

The demonic crowd at the door soon whittled down to just a few demons that quickly ran away to find easier targets around the base just as Buffy, Giles, and Tara rushed into the main room.

"We need to get as many people out," cried Riley as he rushed towards the door and then the hallway outside, which was strewn with dead bodies of both demons and soldiers.

And that what Buffy Riley, Graham, and then others Scoobies did.

The Scoobies had helped to rescue fifty soldiers from the base, sealing up the entire complex before being forced to make their way up the elevator shaft. With the entire base sealed up, the demons were forced to kill each other while the survivors, once they made their way up to the surface, contacted the military and reported in on what had just happened.

 **The Summers Residence, an hour after leaving the Initiative base.**

Althanea, Jenny, Joyce, and Anya were all seated around the dining table in silent worry. They constantly looked at the clock on the wall, hoping to hear from either the Scoobies or Wesley, who was with Angel, and his team. The three of them were silent with Althanea's defensive shield covering the entire house in the event that any demon tried to attack them.

However, none did.

And it was ten minutes later that there was a call on the living room phone. Excitedly, hopeful that it was Buffy, Joyce raised her head up from looking down at the table and then quickly got up on her feet before rushing to the living room. Jenny, Althanea, and Anya followed her and waited with bated breath as Joyce picked up the phone.

"Wesley," she breathed, half in worry about why they hadn't heard from Buffy and the others, while the other half was relieved that she was hearing from an ally. She listened, and at the same time turned towards the other women, and relayed information to them that there were a few vampires that survived the explosion at the warehouse. However, Angel and his team had already taken care of them, "so you're on the way?"

Everyone looked on as Joyce nodded her head before telling Wesley over the phone that they still hadn't heard from Giles and the others. It was just then that everyone heard the sound of an engine going up the driveway. Joyce stopped what she was about to say while Jenny rushed to the front door, as did the others, with the phone receiver glued to Joyce's ear. They opened the door and watched as Willow and the others got out of the car, and then walked up the driveway.

"They're here, Wesley," Joyce's voice cracked slightly when she saw Buffy limping, along with Faith, and various bruises on Willow... a few cuts on Tara, Giles, and the others. Buffy limped over to Joyce and hugged her while the older blonde told Wesley that everyone was okay. She then handed the phone to Giles before wrapping her other arm around Buffy, and then Faith while Willow was holding onto Althanea.

"We should get inside," said Riley who was walking alongside Graham as they came up the stairs from the walkway onto the front porch. Graham then explained that the Army had told them to stay by Lowell house while a team was sent to the fraternity from the Army Base. He said that they had to make statements and then sign various forms before being allowed to leave; and that they would be interviewed again at a later date. Graham then signalled everyone to get in while Jenny and Anya brought out the first aid kits to treat the minor injuries.

It would be another hour later that Wesley would return with Lily and Doyle; with Angel, Gunn and his team, heading back to the Crawford Street mansion. Lily and Doyle welcomed Willow back before telling her that Angel didn't think that she wanted him there; it was something that made Willow nod her head before turning around and walking back into the kitchen. She heard the others talking about what happened, just as she reached the hallway, that led to the kitchen, in the rear of the living room. She walked through it - the voices from Buffy and the others seeming far away.

As she entered into the kitchen, memories flooded of her being beaten, and burned in the mansion. She remembered lying face down on a table sobbing while seeing Giles through tear covered eyes. The watcher was tied to a chair and trying to do everything he could to calm her down. Willow placed her hands on the kitchen island, and closed her eyes as she remembered the pain she experienced when Angelus forcefully entered her. Willow's body shook when she remembered the feeling of violation, betrayal, and fear that permeated her as she sobbed and cried out in pain while she was pressed down against that table.

Her hands, which were gripping onto the surface of the kitchen island, rolled into fists when she recalled Angelus' grunts, and Drusilla's clapping. Willow remembered that Spike was there… he had pushed Angel away, but he was there staring at her during her torture.

And Willow wanted to get back at them. Her heart was racing, and she felt heat rising up from her chest, to her neck and the back of her ears while imagining the pain she wanted to inflict.

With the battle against Borzan over, Willow was prepared to set her sights on the Vampire trio. She started to breathe hard while thinking about her rape and gritted her teeth together while closing her eyes. She felt her rage growing at being so helpless that day; rage against Angel for what happened to her, against Spike for watching while she was beaten and raped, and she was enraged against Drusilla for her role in the opening of the doorway to Hell.. and for the murder of Oz. There were so many thoughts going through her mind while she opened her eyes and stared at the wooden island top before turning her head to the voices heading for the dining room.

Willow then turned and walked towards the back door. She opened it just as Buffy entered the dining room with the others. However, the blonde Slayer saw the door closing, and together with Xander and Tara rushed to the backdoor. They were soon followed by Althanea and the others just as Willow stepped onto the grass, and then turned and looked out at them.

"Willow?" asked Althanea as the white-haired young woman looked back at her, "come inside, you need to rest, and then.."

"Not yet, Althanea," said Willow as she looked away from her mentor, and towards Buffy and the others, and back at Althanea, "we needed his help to beat Borzan, not anymore."

"Willow?" asked Buffy, "who are you talking about?"

"I know what you're thinking, Willow," said Althanea when she realized that Willow was letting her anger control her. She was the first to realize that Willow wanted to go after Angel, and she needed to try and stop her, "there's no one who is going to hurt you, and…"

"I can feel your anger, Willow," Tara said gently as she looked at the former redhead. Willow could feel Tara's calming effect as she slowly walked down the stairs, "I… I… can only guess…"

Willow stepped back; she knew that despite telling Buffy what happened to her in Hell… she still felt nothing. Ever since coming to Sunnydale, and knowing that Angel was in the city as well, Willow felt a quiet fear; a fear that slowly turned to rage. A rage that tried to fill an emptiness in her.

"You can't guess," said Willow as she looked at Tara, and then at Buffy, and finally at Althanea, "I have to do this."

"Willow," Althanea cried out just as Willow used her telekinesis to fly into the air, and then fly off towards the mansion. Buffy looked at the now empty sky, before turning to Althanea and Giles, telling them she knew where Willow was going.

"So do I," said Althanea and Lily together. The Los Angeles native then made a call to Angel using her cellphone while Buffy and the others rushed back into the house, and then out the front door. They got into the cars and then drove off, they needed to stop Willow.

 **Crawford Street Mansion, few seconds later.**

"Gunn!" yelled Angel as he approached the table in the large living room where several bladed weapons and crossbows had been laid. They had just returned from killing twenty three vampires, all of whom survived the explosion and the sunlight, by taking shelter in several shaded areas under the rubble; digging themselves out once night fell.

"Angel?" asked Gunn as the vampire put his phone into his pocket, "take your team and get out of here."

"Gunn," said Angel, "that was Lily on the phone, Willow's on the way here and…"

The both of them heard the sounds of thumping outside their front door from the court-yard. A few of Gunn's team, who were around the table checking their weapons, picked up two swords and two crossbows, handing one of the crossbows to Gunn who aimed it at the front door which shook after someone was hit against it.

"Put your weapons down, and walk away," growled Angel as he glared at Gunn while, on the other side of the door, an enraged Willow used her telekinesis to fling two more people... a young man and woman, to a far wall which they hit and then crumbled down onto the floor.

"Willow."

The former redhead glanced at the image of Niko's mentor, Ariel, before turning back towards another member of Gunn's team who had pointed a gun in her direction. Willow mentally grabbed the gun, disassembled it, and then let the pieces fall onto the ground while running towards the older man and then, when she was close enough, jumped and turned in mid-air before performing a roundhouse to the side of his head. The man fell to the ground before Willow turned and mentally threw the last member of Gunn's team, all of whom had been relaxing in the front courtyard when she landed onto the grounds before lashing out at them, into the front door.. the woman landed next to the other young man she threw into the door only a few seconds ago.

Willow then looked at Ariel, who was looking back at her with a disapproving look on her face.

"Stay away, Ariel," said Willow as she strode towards the door.

"What would Niko say right now, Willow," said Ariel as Willow stopped and closed her eyes. She remembered the Galaxy Ranger, who she met right before the Halloween spell was stopped, and shook her head, "you're using everything she was for…"

Ariel then motioned to all the seven groaning bodies before turning back towards Willow once again.

"For this… for violence against people who didn't do anything; Willow, you lashed out with your powers," said Ariel in a serious tone of voice, a tone that Willow, with Niko's memories of her mentor scolding her, was familiar with, "it is something that the Circle of Thought frown upon… something that Niko herself would never do, and…"

"She never experienced what I did," hissed Willow at Ariel as she tried to pull the door open, but it was locked from the inside.

"No, she did not," said Ariel gently as Willow stepped back while screaming for Angel, "which is why you need to stop now. Willow, you're abusing your powers and… and I know what Angel did was unforgivable, but this isn't the way. There are laws, Willow. As a Galaxy Ranger, you know you can't take the law into your own hands."

"He sent me to hell," growled Willow at Ariel, "and you abandoned me."

"You forgot me, Willow," said Ariel gently while Willow was panting hard, "I'm a figment of your mind based on your knowledge of Niko's memories and experiences. When you forgot her, you forgot me… but I still know the unbelievable pain you experienced

"I haven't killed them Angel!" yelled Willow turning at the closed door, away from Ariel, as anger rose in her body, "But I will if you don't come out and face me! Come out!"

"Willow!" cried Ariel as Willow turned her head sharply back to her, "don't go down this path. You've gone too far in your recovery with the Devon Coven to do this. Please, stop."

"Willow," said a soft voice.

Willow turned her head towards the door once again, and saw Angel standing at the door. He looked at the other groaning members of Gunn's team, and then back at Willow. Upon seeing him in the flesh once again, upon seeing the look of sadness on his face, Willow flashed back to that fateful night. She felt an uncontrollable anger rising in her as she rolled her hands into fists.

"I did this to you, Willow," Angel softly said, regret heavy in his voice as he remembered that night – especially Willow's sobs and screams which permeated his nightmares, "don't kill them. This isn't you."

"I am your creation," growled Willow, her vision being covered in darkness, as she rammed a telekinetic blast into Angel, causing him to fly back, his arms flailing, into the mansion's living room while Gunn and the others got ready to attack, "I won't kill you now… not until I've had my fun."

TBC.


	37. Chapter 37

**Crawford Street Mansion, Sunnydale.**

The last thing that Angel saw before feeling an invisible wall pushed him backwards into the air was Willow's eyes and hair turning a deep black. He could feel rage just coming off her as he flailed his arms before being slammed against the far wall meters away from the front door. He hit the stone wall, and then dropped to the floor while Gunn and two of his team lifted their crossbows at the former redhead who took a few steps into the foyer of the mansion, beyond which was the living room, at which end Angel was slowly getting up while groaning from the pain.

"I get it that something happened to you," said Gunn as he aimed the crossbow at Willow's chest while the other two were moving to either side of Willow, making sure they weren't in a crossfire situation, "but he's not Angelus anymore. The person who hurt you was Angelus, not Angel."

Willow just tilted her head at the dark-skinned man, and then at the other two on either side of her. She then turned back to looking at Gunn, and a smile formed on her lips.

"The three of you have one chance to leave," Willow said as she stared at Gunn, her smile vanishing. She then looked at the other two, and then back at Gunn once again. Looking over the man's shoulder, Willow formed a smile once again as she watched Angel placed one hand on the far wall to help him up to his feet. He then stood up, and looked at Willow before telling Gunn and the other two to stand down.

"Get out of here, Gunn… now!" ordered Angel as Willow took a step forward. Gunn stepped towards Willow with his crossbow aimed at Willow. Angel barked at him again, telling him and the other two to leave… that Willow had a problem with him and not with them.

"Leave," whispered Willow as she stared at Gunn with her black eyes.

"Gunn!" yelled Angel as he took a step forward away from the wall, "get out now! You need to check on the others… please."

Gunn looked over his shoulder at the ensouled vampire, and then back at Willow who was staring right back at him. The young man slowly put his weapon down, and nodded at the others to head outside. They asked Gunn if he was sure, and that made Gunn look over his shoulder at Angel again and ask if he was absolutely sure.

"Go," said Angel before Gunn turned back at Willow. He nodded his head reluctantly before rushing past Willow who followed the young man with .her eyes before turning back to Angel, who was looking back at her. Once the front door was closed behind her, Willow looked over her shoulder and mumbled a spell which magically sealed the door, a spell that only she could disperse.

"You brought me back," said Willow turning back to Angel, "at least that's what I heard."

"What I did to you was unforgivable, Willow," said Angel as he took a step forward, and stopped when Willow mentally picked up five swords; three of which were on the table among other weapons.. weapons that had been used to kill any remaining vampires that escaped from the destroyed warehouse earlier, and two more from the wall over the fireplace. Willow smiled as she mentally made the swords orbit around her while walking towards Angel, who himself was walking to his left side.

And Willow slowly followed the man, while he told her that he had spent every waking moment searching for a way to bring her back, in collaboration with Giles, "I'm sorry about everything, Willow. About what happened to you, Giles, Buffy, Xander…. I'm sorry about Oz, and…"

"You wanted to make me a hero," said Willow as one sword darted towards Angel; the man sidestepping it before ducking from it being mentally swung over his head. The sword was then mentally pulled back by the black haired young woman, the sword now orbiting around her once again. Angel slowly got up and saw the swords being a barrier, preventing him from getting to her, "and you did. You killed someone I loved and… Oh, before you say it was Dru.. you ordered it. Speaking of which, now, where's Spike and Dru? After I'm done here, I want to pay them a little visit."

"This isn't you, Willow," said Angel gently as he held up his palms, letting them face her to show that he meant no harm, "you're home, and…"

"My home is gone," said Willow softly as she mentally threw him against the wall again, and then slammed him hard onto the floor. Once he hit the floor, Willow threw two blades at him, which he managed to miss in the last moment, the blades sparking as they slashed against the stone floor. Angel rolled away to one side knowing that Willow was simply playing with him; he knew that she could have simply held him still with her abilities, and then cut off his head. Angel slowly got up to his feet as the blades orbited around Willow once again, "my parents are gone, the man I loved is gone, you took away everything I could be… my mind, my humanity… everything."

"I did it," said Angel as the dark eyed Willow stared at Angel without any expression on her face, "and it's something that I can never expect you to forgive me for. I just wanted to see you and make sure that you… you're going to be alright. I wanted to say I'm sorry… but I didn't know how to come to you. You have every right to be angry… I sent you to Hell, and…"

"Let me give you a feel of what happened to me," said Willow as she mentally grabbed Angel, and then flung him behind her to the wooden front door.. which he was slammed into with a bang, and then his feet were spread out, along with his arms out by his sides. Willow smirked as one blade darted into his hands with such force that the blade was run through the wooden door… followed by another blade through his other hand, and then through each of his feet, and the last sword went through his chest.

Angel screamed in pain as Gunn and the others, who were looking to their friends outside in the courtyard, looked back at the door only to see five bloodied blades sticking out of the door. Frowning, before cursing at himself for listening to Angel and leaving him alone with Willow, Gunn told his team to grab some of the fired arrows and crossbows.

"Come with me," he said motioning at them to follow him.

It was just then that there was a screech of tyres from the stairs that led to the parking lot. Gunn loaded his crossbow and ordered his team to wait for whoever it was before he head past the front door, and into a alley leading to the back yard. He ran past the long walls,, before making a turned, and then entered another courtyard. Gunn then ran through in the room, and then in another hallway which led to a dining room, beyond which was the living room where Willow was located, along with Angel. He crept behind a wall as he heard Angel scream, followed by the sound of flesh sizzling and burning, and then a stench wafting in the air. Gunn peeked out past the wall, and heard Willow mutter a spell while holding her hand to her side. Her palm faced upwards as a fireball the size of a penny appeared, and then she threw it at Angel who was stuck to the front door with the swords.

"I'm actually taking it easy on you, Angel," said Willow as she looked at the pained expression in his face before she walked towards the table, and saw a bag of crossbow ammunition. Smiling, she reached in and picked one arrow up just as Gunn stood up and went into the room. He fired an arrow at Willow with the crossbow, towards her left shoulder blade.

"Gunn!" yelled Angel. However, it was too late as the arrow went through Willow's shoulder blade. She fell forward, her hands against the table top as a burning sting went through her body from her shoulder. Hissing, Willow turned and glared at Gunn with her jet black eyes as he loaded another arrow into the crossbow. Angel yelled at Gunn to leave just as he brought up the crossbow again, and told her to stand down.

Willow dropped the arrow she was holding on to, and then reached behind her, wrapped her hand around the shaft of the arrow, and then pulled it out of her shoulder.. yelping out loud in the process before she mentally dislocated Gunn's shoulders. The young man screamed in pain following sickening cracks as his arms just fell downwards. Willow then mentally flung him to one side while feeling the blood flowing down the wound in her shoulder. She then turned, the bloody arrow in one hand as she approached Angel.

"Now where was I?" asked Willow.

"Willow," said Angel as he looked at the blood flowing down the front of her shoulder, "please, we need to get you to a hospital."

"The pain on my shoulder is nothing compared to what I experienced in Hell, Angel," said Willow before she stabbed him with the arrow, and then pulled it out slightly before making slow and deliberate cuts into his flesh with the arrowhead. The vampire was already bleeding profusely from the stab wounds, and Willow knew that the cuts she was making would make it hurt even more as she looked up at the pained expression on his face while he tried to keep from screaming, "they kept my soul, Angel. Did you know that the demons in Hell loved my meat, my organs, my bones as a delicacy while my soul was in my body? I had my body ripped apart, eaten alive, dipped in acid, destroyed…. Most common was when I would be shackled form the ceiling, and this horned demon would cut me up slowly. You can't imagine the pain, Angel… the pain remained after I was resurrected. And then I'd die,… and resurrect… die… and resurrect. It was a vicious cycle."

"I'm sorry, Willow," panted Angel who was trying not to doze off from the loss of blood, before Willow began cutting his arms.

"I don't know how long that went on for," said Willow as she made a gash on his left arm, from the elbow to the wrist, and more blood began to drip down onto the stone floor, "eventually, Borzan made me an offer…."

Angel then opened his eyes and looked at Willow.

"Yes, that Borzan," Willow said, "the one we killed. He said that I'll still be tortured, but he would take away the pain. He would take away the pain in exchange for me torturing humans who made deals with Borzan for their souls. So I accepted… I had dreams about Buffy, Giles, and Xander… but by this time I didn't remember who I was.. or who they were. All I knew was that they were important to me, that they could help me… but there was no help coming. Borzan took me down, showed me the way to torture someone. I didn't like it… I puked so many times. And then.. and then when it came time for me to become demon food, there was no pain. So I tortured human souls and eventually, I liked it. I liked it so much that I found ways to extend their pain without them dying. They practically begged me to die… but I wouldn't let them."

"Willow," rasped Angel as he tried to stay awake, "I…"

"You're gonna say that you're sorry?" asked Willow sarcastically while she heard Gunn's groan, and told Angel about the years she spent enjoying torturing her victims. She told Angel that her entire body would be covered in blood, before they were resurrected and Willow continued their torture, that the brand on her chest was that of Acatha's Jailer, at least one of them; signifying that she was responsible for torture.

"Someone who was supposed to be honoured, feared, and respected in Hell," Willow hissed as she stabbed Angel before reaching up and getting a grip on his lower jaw. She took the bloodied arrow and made slices close to his jugular vein and watched as blood dripped down. She then made a few more cuts that had Angel stifle a scream before the former redhead stepped back while glaring at Angel, her powers holding the swords in place so that the weakened Angel couldn't move.

Willow told Angel more about her time in hell torturing her victims, but didn't hear Buffy and the others creeping in, hearing the entire confession as she made another cut on Angel, whose eyes were now closed… his body and clothes covered in blood, "so you see, Angel. Sorry won't take any of that away. I could feel myself losing my humanity, it wasn't gone… only nearly. I could hear it calling me… my humanity. It was calling me… giving me some warmth. And then I heard about a possible escape being whispered among the other demons and jailers, and I ran… I betrayed my brand and I was caught. It was Borzan's test, and I paid for it. He placed a brand on my shoulder, the brand of a traitor, the day he caught me. And you know what? All the times I had been tortured… all the times my insides where eaten away and my body torn up? All that pain when I couldn't feel it? It returned a hundredfold.. a thousand fold. The pain took over my mind.. you cannot imagine! The Pain! I'd die screaming in pain, and I'd resurrect screaming in pain until my mind broke! Until I became an animal… I had no sense of…."

"Willow?" said Buffy as Willow stiffened, and then looked over her shoulder at the blonde Slayer, and behind her were a stunned Althanea and Tara who were teared up at the thought of what Willow had admitted, Faith, and Giles. Althanea, Faith, and Tara were staring at Willow while Giles was heard whispering 'oh dear God', and Buffy's eyes brimmed with tears. Buffy looked up at Angel hanging from the door, and then back at Willow who was staring back at her with black eyes, "please. Don't do this."

"I've already done it, Buffy," Willow said with a smile as she tilted her head, "so many years of torturing human souls… so many years that it's nothing to me now. Did you know that when I first saw you again, I imagined you on my rack screaming?"

"Willow," said Althanea holding back the sob gathering in her throat as she took a step forward, "we're asking you to stop."

Buffy looked at Willow with her eyes wide open at the candid admission from her best friend. And a chill ran up her spine.. but she pushed it away and took a step towards the former redhead. Buffy reached her hand out behind her and told everyone to stay where they were while she approached Willow. Buffy then grabbed one of Willow's hands, and then reached for the bloody hand that still held the arrow. She looked into the black eyes and placed the arrow head on her own chest.

"Buffy!" exclaimed Giles who was about to run to the Slayer, and pull her back. Faith was about to do the same thing as well, a plan had already formed in her mind, and she was about to carry it out when Althanea told the both of them to stop. Giles and Faith turned back to Althanea wiping her eyes, and were about to protest when she told them to trust Willow.

"She's angry, hurt, I can feel her anguish," whispered Tara who also wiped a tear away while looking at Willow's aura, "how did she hide this much rage, it's over whelming… like it's falling on me like a thick blanket."

"She won't harm Buffy," said Althanea as she looked at Giles and Faith before telling Tara that she was right, she could feel the rage and anguish from Willow… emotions that seemed to have physically manifested itself in causing her hair and eyes to turn black. While Althanea asked the others to trust Willow not hurting Buffy, the Slayer placed the bloodied arrow head on her chest, right above her heart, and told Willow to push it in.

"I know I should have killed Angelus when I had the chance, Willow," whispered Buffy as a tear fell down her face when she looked into Willow's eyes, "so here's your chance for revenge if it makes you happy. If it gets rid of your anger… kill me, or torture me… do what you want, Willow. Ultimately all of this is my fault."

"I…" said Willow as her hand started to shake. She imagined stabbing the arrow into Buffy's heart, she imagined Buffy screaming in pain from the cuts she wanted to slash into the Slayer's skin. Willow knew that there was a part that wanted to end it all… but there was another part stopping her. Another part screaming at her to stop… that what happened already happened, that killing or torturing Buffy would create no sense of peace for her.

"Don't be angry at Giles and the others, Will," whispered Buffy, "kill me, torture me, but not them."

"I…" whispered Willow as her body trembled while tears gathered in her eyes as she remembered their first meeting in Sunnydale high. Willow's hair turned back white, and her eyes went back to their natural green as more tears fell down her cheeks.

"I can never forgive Angel for what happened," whispered Buffy as she took a step forward while Willow put her hand over her eyes and sobbed, "and I can never forgive myself. But he helped get you back, and despite how angry I got at him…. I am grateful for that. I am grateful for knowing you… for being my best friend."

Buffy then wrapped her arms around Willow as she started to sob heavily while the doors were unsealed, Willow unable to concentrate on the magic that kept it shut. Faith and Giles then ran past Willow and Buffy, and pulled the swords out of Angel, who then fell onto the floor while Tara ran out the front door and told Wesley to get some blood packs. She then turned back to see Giles and Faith dragging Angel away to one side before turning to Buffy sniffing as she held on tight to Willow, who was screaming in anguish with Althanea placed her hand on the former redhead's back. Tara could tell from the shock that remained in Althanea's aura that she didn't know everything about Willow's time in hell.

'Now that we do, we can begin healing,' thought Tara to herself as Willow hugged Althanea while Buffy wiped her eyes.

With the injured and Willow being attended to, a figure in white robes was standing in one side of the room watching everything taking place around her. She was just outside this dimension, making sure that no one could sense her presence. The figure with the long brown hair and brown eyes stared at Willow, and then at Tara, Buffy, and the others including Xander who had just rushed in from the outside where he was helping tend to the injured, and back to Willow again before whispering to herself.

"Your true healing can now begin, Willow," whispered the woman, "I sense the Matrix trying to hide within the Earth. It is trembling in fear at the Beast that is searching for it. I have seen what is yet to come, I have seen the Monks adding the Matrix to my essence, and I have seen myself being sent to the Slayer. Despite that, despite knowing that the monks will change reality to fit their narrative… know that you are my champion even if I do not remember it. Know that when it comes time, you will be there to save me and the world. You are my champion… my Willow."

TBC.


	38. Chapter 38

**Willow's Room, Sunnydale Mercy Hospital, 0200 hours.**

With her left arm in a sling to take the pressure off the crossbow wound in her shoulder, Willow lay on the hospital room bed and looked up at the ceiling.

She hated this hospital in particular; Willow was able to see and hear her parents dying in front of her, murdered by Borzan ever since she woke up following emergency surgery on her shoulder injury. She had no choice but to see the dead looks from the eyes of her mother and father, this was where she was supposed to be for the next few days.

This was the place where she was supposed to be recovering.

After she woke up, Willow was told by Doyle and Lily that they were leaving for Los Angeles, and that Angel gave all his best to her recovery. They continued to say that he didn't want to traumatise her any more than he already had a few hours ago back in the mansion. Willow would be looked at the both of them without an expression on her face. It was Lily who stepped forward and gave the former redhead a hug, much to Willow's surprise, while whispering into Willow's ear that happened to her wasn't Angel's fault.

"It was Angelus, and he's never coming back," Lily whispered before pulling back as Willow sat upright on the bed an hour ago. Willow's shoulder was throbbing in pain as she continued to just stare at Lily, and even now, late at night, as she lay silently on the bed. Unable to take the pain, Willow reached for a button on a device that was on her bed. She grabbed the device on her left side, and then pressed the button down. Willow closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as the throbbing pain slowly disappeared thanks to a small dose of painkillers that entered her bloodstream through the tube connected to her wrist.

She lay her head to the left, and released the device while trying to push out the sounds of her parents being killed. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she started remembering techniques that the Coven taught her, and the techniques that Ariel had taught Niko.

'No, Ariel taught me those techniques.' Willow thought to herself.

Willow knew that it was time to stop differentiating between her memories and Nikko's memories. From now on, Willow told herself that all of the new memories and experiences - all of Niko's training in magic with the Circle, and her training and experience as a Galaxy Ranger was her own. Taking another deep breath, Willow opened her eyes and turned her head to look back up at the ceiling.

The sound of the sickening crunches just before Ira and Sheila died faded into the back ground. The sounds were replaced with a single thought; she wanted a way to find the others who were at the mansion on that fateful day.

She didn't want to even think about Angel again, so Willow's thoughts went to Spike. The vampire was the one who threatened her family if she or Buffy came after him after he ran away with Drusilla. As she looked up at the ceiling, Willow remembered that he was there watching intently as she was tortured by Angelus. She recalled that Spike was also present during the rape, and he was the one who tried to kill her after the incident at the library – the very night of the Halloween debacle. Willow took in a deep breath while she continued to look at the ceiling as her mind then turned to the vampire who murdered Oz, the one who egged on Angelus in opening the gateway to Acathla's Hell. The very vampire who cheered on Willow's 'corruption'… the very one who hypnotized her and made her powers inaccessible. Willow wanted her to pay dearly.

She wanted the both of them to pay.

As she closed her eyes, Willow thought about how she'd go about making the both of them pay. She knew that Althanea and the others wouldn't approve of what she was hoping to do, so Willow decided to find a way on her own. Willow knew spells from her training with Ariel on how to locate anyone anywhere on a particular planet. It was this particular location spell that provided her with Spike's exact location when she performed it in secret without having the Coven know. She found Spike in Sunnydale, in the South Street Graveyard living underground in a crypt. However, despite her discovery of the creature, Willow wasn't sure if she was ready to get back to her home at that particular time. However it all changed upon learning that Borzan had returned to the land of the living.

And the next day, she and Althanea were already leaving for Sunnydale.

As for Drusilla, Willow knew that she was in Paris, France; she had gathered follower and formed a cult that would go out each night… returning their victims to the catacombs where Drusilla would perform rituals before drinking their blood. Willow didn't know what the mad vampire was doing there, but the former redhead knew that there was going to be a reckoning.

While Willow was imagining the punishments that Spike and Drusilla would receive, Buffy and the other main Scoobies were in the waiting room fast asleep. Their dreams were disturbing to say the least; with Buffy, Tara, Xander, and Giles having vivid nightmares of the First Slayer killing them in retaliation for using her powers in a way that was never meant to be used. It would be a few hours later that the Scoobies woke up with a start. The group took some time to get their bearings, before finding themselves at the hospital waiting room with Joyce, Jenny, Faith and Althanea still fast asleep. The Scoobies gently got up off their seats and went for some vending machine coffee before privately discussing what they had seen and heard in their nightmares. It was Giles who posited, while drinking coffee, that the First Slayer had given them a warning; a warning that her powers shouldn't be misused and that a Slayer always fought alone.

They described their nightmares in private to Althanea the next morning, and she agreed that it was a side-affect of the unification spell that created the 'super-Buffy'.

"You shouldn't be getting those nightmares anymore though," Althanea said before going into Willow's room. Before she entered the door, she turned and told Giles and Buffy that they saved the world again, "this was just a nightmare. We move on, and protect the world against the next threat."

"Agreed," said Giles while Buffy nodded her head. She never told Giles about one part of her dream. In this part, she was entering a room in her house; it was the guest room that Faith was currently occupying. However, the room was decorated differently with many of the pictures and posters that Faith put up in her room gone, replaced with posters of teen heart-throbs and boybands. Shaking her head, Buffy looked back at Faith walking towards them with Tara; the both of them had some coffee in their hands. The dark-haired Slayer told Buffy and Giles that she got a call from Graham and Riley who were in Washington D.C being debriefed on the Initiative situation.

"They'll be back tomorrow," she said handing a cup to Giles and Buffy while Althanea called for Tara, asking the young woman if she was willing to start helping begin Willow's healing process. Tara nodded her head before following Althanea into the room while Buffy glanced over at Faith. She thought back to the completely decorated room in her dream; at first, she thought that Faith had left them… but Buffy could still sense her being in the house.

'But not in the room,' thought Buffy to herself as she moved her eyes away from Faith who was talking to Giles, 'someone else was in that room. And then there was the little girl's laughter.'

Buffy looked at Tara, who was walking towards Althanea in the doorway that led to Willow's room and remembered the laughter in her dream. A laughter from wo she thought was a little girl. Buffy recalled hearing the laughter, but the little girl was nowhere to be seen. Buffy shook her head and walked towards Faith and Giles while Tara and Althanea closed the door behind them after having entered the room. Buffy needed to tell the both of them about her dream; for some reason, she was feeling compelled to tell them.

She just wasn't sure why, and it made her uneasy.

 **Grover Woods Cemetery, Sunnydale, 1130 hours; a week after the incident at the mansion.**

Willow placed her right hand on the top of the headstone, and then slowly knelt down on both knees. She then leaned forward and traced her fingers over the black etching on the headstone's surface. She traced Oz's name as tears gathered in her eyes while silently apologizing for not being there during his funeral since she was spirited away to the Devon Coven to begin restoring her very self. The wind brushed past her while Buffy, Xander, Althanea, and Giles stood behind her dressed in all black. Willow placed four stones on the top of the headstone before kissing the tips of a couple of her fingers, and then placing them on Oz's name.

"I love you, Oz," she said softly before offering a silent prayer, and then slowly getting up to her feet with one arm pushing against the headstone. She had already visited her parents graves before coming down to see OZ, having apologized to them as well before saying that she wished she could have been a better daughter to them. As she walked towards Buffy and the others, Althanea was the first one to carefully hug the white haired young woman, followed by Giles, Xander, and then Buffy.

The five of them then began walking away from Oz's grave while Buffy walked to her left, asking her if she was going to see Tara for their sessions, which began a week ago, later that day.

"At three, actually," said Willow softly as she wiped her eyes.

"Then tonight we'll continue our work on healing that wound, Willow," said Althanea as Willow nodded her head.

"Right now, we need to head to your parents' lawyer's office," said Giles, "they left you a will, and…"

"Yea," was the reply from Willow.

"We'll come with you," stated Xander as Willow looked at the young man, his voice indicating that it wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact. He didn't want her to be alone, and neither did anyone else. Willow nodded her head as Buffy wrapped her arm around Willow's, and walked together towards Giles' red BMW. Willow glanced over at Buffy and thought back to how she had been doing everything she could to try and rebuild their relationship. Willow told her from her hospital bed, after she had been operated on for her shoulder wound, that it would take some time to get back to where they once were.

"But I think we'd get there," Willow said after having her first session with Tara on her hospital bed.

"That's all that matters," said Buffy as she sat next to Willow a week ago.

It would be after that session when Lily and Doyle came to her bedside at the hospital. They told her that Gunn was going to be alright, that the doctors had managed to pop in his arms… although he was going to be sore for several weeks. Willow simply nodded her head before Lily said that Angel sent his apologies again for what happened, but thought that it would be better for her recovery if he didn't say good-bye in person. Willow didn't say a word as she looked at the sadness in Lily's eyes which looked away; all she did was nod her head before Doyle said that they were heading back to Los Angeles and that Angel would be leaving them alone.

"But if you ever need him.. need us," said Lily at Willow and then at Buffy, "we'll come running."

Buffy nodded her head while Willow looked off to the side before Doyle and Lily left the hospital room. The blonde Slayer looked over at her best friend just as Riley arrived to the room with Graham, Faith, and Xander who said that they had just walked past Doyle and Lily. Buffy then told them that they were leaving for L.A.

Back in the present day, it had been a week since they left Sunnydale as Giles' car pulled up to the Rosenberg's lawyer's office. Willow hugged the older man who gave her his condolences on the loss of her parents before asking her and her friends to take a seat. He then sat down, and took out a thick envelope. He talked to Willow about the last time he had talked to Ira and Sheila while opening the envelope, and then reaching inside and taking out a smaller envelope which he then handed to Willow.

"It's a letter to you, Willow," he said while Willow looked at her name written in blue ink on the envelope's surface, "but we should start with the reading of the will."

"Yeah," Willow replied as Althanea placed her hand on Willow's shoulder. The lawyer started to read the will as Willow recalled the time she had with her parents. The lawyer told Willow that they had left everything from their investments, to the bank accounts, to the home which was already paid for… transferred to her name after their deaths. As Willow thought about her parents, she remembered the happy moments and sad moments. The moment that stuck with her the most was when Willow first laid her eyes on Sheila after returning from Hell. She remembered Sheila's warmth as she held her daughter tight while telling Ira to call the police, all while the lawyer's voice sounded distant.

Everything seemed to go at super-speed, and the next thing she knew.. Willow was saying goodbye to the lawyer who told her to keep in touch, and that he'd be there for her if she needed any help or advice. Willow nodded her head and then left with the others towards the exit, and then into Giles' car which was parked outside. Once in the car, Willow asked Buffy for help in opening the envelope since her arm was still in a sling. She opened the envelope while Giles started the car, while Xander sat next to her on her left, with Althanea in the front seat.

Buffy then handed the letter to Willow, before feeling something else in the envelope.

"My dearest Willow," said Willow, with Buffy and Xander consoling the young woman when she was unable to speak for a few seconds after her voice broke. The letter was written by Sheila, in her handwriting, began with Sheila saying that the day they found out she was pregnant with Willow was the happiest day of their lives, "we tried for a year after we… we got married to have a child. But.. but we were unsuccessful. The doctors said.. said that I wasn't able to have a child and… and that broke my heart."

Willow sniffed and wiped her tears while everyone listened in silence. She took in a deep breath before continuing to read the letter.

"Ira and I were working on our respective doctorates when I got that news," said Willow reading the letter, "and I was devastated. I lost my focus and wanted to quit. I wanted a child, and I just found I wasn't able to have my own baby boy or girl. Ira was there for me the whole time, and he pulled me back from the brink. We agreed to adopt a child after we graduated."

"Are you adopted?" asked Xander interrupted Willow. The young woman, Buffy, Giles, and Althanea all turned to Xander and frowned. The young man held up his hands and apologized for interrupting before asking Willow to continue reading the letter.

"We agreed to adopt a child after we graduated," repeated Willow as she scanned the letter, "we returned to Sunnydale after spending a few days in Santa Barbara and were thinking about starting a practice in Sunnydale. Three weeks after our return to Sunnydale, while we were signing the lease for our offices… I felt sick. I later learned that a miracle happened. I was pregnant with you. You are our miracle baby."

Willow's voice broke again and she closed her eyes while Buffy looked inside the envelope after remembering that she felt something inside. She opened it, reached in, and found a Polaroid picture. She looked it out, and saw a young Ira and Sheila sitting on a bed surrounded by balloons. Ira's arm was around Sheila's shoulders while the both of them were looking down at a pink coloured bundle.

"Will," said Buffy as she handed the picture to Willow, whose eyes were wide open upon seeing the picture. She closed her eyes and sniffled before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked at the picture, and told herself that she had never seen this particular picture, and believed that it was probably one of many that Ira and Sheila kept to themselves.

"When you were… were born," Willow began reading the letter again, "that was the happiest day of my life. Our lives. I know that you feel that you were ignored by us, and we are so sorry. We wanted everything for you so we pushed our lives into making sure you wouldn't want for anything. But the sacrifice we made was having a better relationship with you… which is why we were out so much, and why you were alone so much. I know I used to tell you that you needed to be independent, and I remember how sad you used to look back at me and your dad… and that look broke our hearts. But despite not being able to see you… we never stopped loving you, Willow."

Willow continued reading the letter, and once she was done, the young woman handed it to Buffy who folded it, and then placed it into the envelope, along with the picture. She then handed the envelope to Willow, who then whispered that she was ready to leave. She leaned back on the seat as the car reversed, and closed her eyes with the times she had with her parents flowing through her mind.

Her thoughts on revenge were pushed back slightly, the young woman very aware that she had to have her shoulder heal first. But for now, Willow wanted to remember her parents… for now, that's all that mattered.

TBC.


	39. Chapter 39

**The Rosenberg residence, a month later, 0200 hours.**

Willow was in her room standing over her bed, in what was now her house, as she looked at the pieces of clothing lying on her bed. She had moved back to her family home, despite Althanea offering to help sell the place if she wanted so that she could move to a single bedroom apartment. Althanea and the others even offered their own homes to the white-haired young woman so that she could stay with them. However, Willow refused the offers, saying that she was going to be fine.

It was the day she moved back into her home a few days ago when she found herself looking up at the ceiling. She lay on the bed with her head lying on her left arm which was itself lying on a soft pillow. She could sometimes, ever since moving back to her house, hear her mother and father's voice… and she didn't want to forget those voices ever again. It was a few days after the reading of the will that Willow went to the bank to retrieve her parents safe deposit boxes after signing the paperwork that transferred everything they owned to her name. At the bank, Willow opened one of the three boxes in a private room. She looked inside the box after opening the top and a hand covered her mouth while a gasp leaked out. Tears fell down her face as she sat down while reaching into the pile of pictures. As she kept down the sob that threatened to escape while taking out a picture of her mother and father, Willow finally found out why there weren't a lot of family pictures in the house.

In fact Willow had asked Sheila about it when she was younger., but all the older redhead said was that pictures weren't necessary for Willow's emotional growth. Willow always thought that Sheila and Ira threw away those pictures, and Willow simply accepted it as a family quirk despite her disappointment.

'I thought she just wanted me to keep those moments in my mind,' thought Willow as she looked at another picture with a sniffle. It was a picture of Ira holding her up when she was ten years old, and Willow remembered the time it was taken - Ira and Sheila had to go for a lecture series in Atlanta, and Willow had brought the camera to her mother just before they left.

Willow remembered the smile that appeared on Sheila's lips for a little while before it vanished and Sheila went down on one knee. She told her daughter that pictures didn't matter as much as the memory of it being taken.

"A picture means that you would always want to look at it," Sheila had told Willow who was pouting at her mother while holding the camera in her arms. Ira walked in behind her and agreed with Sheila before hugging Willow. Sheila continued to say that pictures would hold Willow back from developing her independence, but she still agreed to take it. At the time Willow didn't understand, all she remembered was Ira wrapped his arms around her while laying his head on her shoulders. Willow started to laugh just as Sheila took the picture, and then she took away the camera from her daughter.

It would be a few minutes after the picture was taken that they left for Atlanta.

Back in the bank, Willow wiped her eyes and then sifted through all of the other pictures; pictures that she thought were never developed. Instead, all of them remained in Ira and Sheila's safe-deposit box. Another box contained Willow's grandmothers' jewellery, while another box contained more valuables that belonged to her mother and father, as well as their passports. The former redhead sniffled before returning the boxes to where they were kept, just taking a few pictures with her.

Since that day at the bank, Willow, with the help of Althanea and the others, spent time putting up the pictures she had brought over from the safe deposit box. In between trying to make a new life for herself, Willow spent time talking with Tara about her time in Hell, and her hurt feelings about Buffy's role in what happened. She also talked about Oz, and all the things that she was never able to tell the young man. In addition, Willow also talked to Althanea and Giles about what she had done in Hell as Acathla's Jailer with Tara sitting next to her. It would be during these sessions that Willow would fall sobbing in Althanea's arms while Tara and Giles just looked on in concern for the young woman.

In addition to lending her ear, Tara helped to slowly heal the wound on Willow's shoulder wound while, a few weeks ago, Giles and Althanea advised Willow that it was time she started a routine once again. Willow nodded her head and applied for her GED in a few months. She half-jokingly said that she didn't want to return to Sunnydale High since she would be the only one who was at least a thousand years old.

"You look good for a thousand-year-old," smiled Buffy as she helped her rearrange the furniture, "but then again, you still haven't beaten Anya in the age department."

Willow smiled at the blonde Slayer; the former redhead was slowly coming to terms with Buffy being partly at fault for what happened at the mansion. But Willow was also coming to the realization that Buffy regretted everything that happened, and that she had to move on and forgive. It was something that Tara, Faith, Althanea and the others agreed with as well.

Back in the present day, Willow turned away from the clothing on her bed and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Standing still while simply in her underwear with the rest of her clothes piled on the floor, Willow stared at every scar on her body; the most prominent being the brand on her chest. She brushed her fingers on the raised skin while looking at the scars… scars that would never heal thanks to being cut and stabbed with instruments that were dipped in Hell fire. She brushed her fingers along the scars as they travelled down her arms and to her wrists. There were some on the top of her hands and palms that could be easily explained away… but the others would be difficult.

And that was what led to her new wardrobe – curtesy of a mall trip with Cordelia days after she returned following the Borzan situation. She apologized to Willow for running away, and was surprised when Willow said that she understood. Even after leaving for Los Angeles again, Willow and Cordelia remained in contact with each other. It was the soap opera actress who helped picked out the clothes on the bed… she told Willow that she needed a new look.

Willow sighed at her memories of Cordelia while she looked at the scars on her abdomen, chest, sides, upper arms, shoulders, legs, and feet. Willow knew that she would never be able to wear anything revealing since she didn't want others questioning her on how she got her injuries. Willow then turned around and headed back to her bed. She picked up the matte black form fitting catsuit, unzipped the front and then put it on one leg after the other. All the while, Willow looked at herself in the mirror and then walked towards her table. She opened the drawer while the top of her suit was hanging off her waist and reached down for her Ranger badge. She had the badge in her hand when she remembered that it was out of power.

'I need to find a spell that could create small amounts of Alpha Radiation,' Willow thought to herself as she closed the drawer and walked back to the mirror while bringing the top of her suit up. She put the healed arm into one of the sleeves, followed by the other arm before bringing the zipper up from her naval, past her chest, and to her neck. Her entire body was covered in the form-fitting matte black catsuit as she put on the same steel-toed boots she used as Nighthawk, followed by the gloves, and the belt with the batons and pepper-spray. There was also the addition of two combat knives which she attached to her thighs, one on each side along with their sheathes. She then reached down and picked up her balaclava and put it over her head before putting on her goggles.

She looked at her reflection on the mirror before turning off her room lights, and then opening the window. She looked out at the darkened neighbours' homes, and then smiled under her covered lips. Willow stepped onto the roof, and then closed the window before her before flying up high into the skies above her house.

It was thirty minutes earlier that she performed an advanced location to search for her first target, Spike. Willow used techniques she learnt from the Coven and Ariel to pinpoint his exact location, and she was heading there as she flew using her telekinesis towards a cemetery. Once she reached the cemetery, Willow used her magic to hover over the large area of graves while scanning he surface with her eyes.

 **Spike's Crypt, a few minutes later.**

It was then a smile crept on her face as she flew to the same crypt that her location spell indicated was being used by Spike. Willow landed softly on the grass outside the entrance while reaching to either side of her hips and grabbing her batons. She flicked her wrist, extending the batons, and was instantly met with a flash of a man screaming on her torture rack as she pummelled him with batons in Hell. Pushing that thought to one side as the screaming man was replaced by the image of a screaming Spike, Willow slowly opened the door with her telekinesis while holding out her batons as she crept into the crypt.

It was dark inside as she took one cautious step after another. She looked around and then noticed a bit of light shining through a gap in the floor. She slowly walked over and then crouched down to reach for what looked to be a handle. Willow grabbed it, and then pulled it up to reveal a staircase that travelled down to a lower floor.

Just as her location spell indicated.

Willow floated down to the lower floor so that she could avoid the wooden stairs. Once she landed on the floor, Willow walked down a hallway towards some grunting sounds. She heard a woman moan and then a male grunt… the sounds repeated themselves until Willow walked in on Spike and a blonde woman on the bed. Willow tilted her head while the woman was riding Spike, and smiled… happy to do what she was about to do.

"You're doing it wrong," Willow said as she woman gasped before turning around and getting off Spike. She vamped out, much to Willow's surprise while Spike rolled off the bed and vamped out while trying to cover himself.

"Who're…" Spike was about to ask who was standing in front of him when he sniffed the air, and narrowed his eyes at the figure, "Red?"

"Red?" said a confused Harmony while Willow glanced at the female vampire, and shook her head before speaking in a muffled voice.

"Harmony, Harmony, Harmony," teased Willow as she looked at the girl who used to bully her all through middle school and High School, "look at you. Other people go up in the world, and you… well, went down."

"Who are you?" asked Harmony as Willow looked at Spike while waving her hand at Harmony who found herself smashed against a wall. She fell onto the floor as Spike was hurriedly putting on a pair of jeans before he lunged at Willow. The former redhead mentally held Spike in mid-air, much to the vampire's chagrin when a sting went through his body from the chip in his head.

"Buffy said you had some chip that made you a good doggy," said Willow as she slammed him into the wall over his bed. Willow mumbled a spell and restraints made from the stone surrounding them wrapped themselves around Spike's arms, legs, and feet. Spike was struggling to get out while Willow turned to the groaning Harmony, and mentally slammed her against the wall again. Willow reached for her goggles and pulled them off while at the same time taking off the balaclava and stared at Harmony who was slowly getting to her feet.

"Willow?" she said confused, "you… you died. I heard you died, and…"

"Yeah, and then I came back. Guess you don't keep up on current events, huh?" Willow said as she slammed Harmony into the wall again while Spike continued to struggle against the thick stone restraints. Willow took a step forward and smiled at Harmony who was getting up before swiftly lunging at her. Harmony roared in anger before Willow grabbed her mentally in mid-air and then slammed her into Spike. Harmony hit his chest, and then fell onto the bed groaning in pain.

"I heard you came back," said Spike as Willow looked back up at Spike, "heard you got a new hair colour too, and… look, Red. There are something that happened. You know about the chip, so you know I can't hurt you, and…"

"Shhh, no begging," said Willow as she slammed one of the batons in her hands into the side of Harmony's head. The vampire rolled onto the bed and then fell onto the floor as Willow rushed to her and mercilessly beat her while Spike watched. Willow mentally restrained Harmony's arms while she screamed for Spike. Willow then stopped slamming the batons into her, and stepped back while panting hard. She glared at the bleeding Harmony and told her that she would be merciful and send her on the way to hell.

Spike watched as Harmony started to writhe on the floor while screaming in pain. He could only watch Willow looking back at her, and then back at him before the newly turned vampire's body turned to ash after her heart was mentally torn out of her body. Spike looked at the dead heart which floated over the pile of ash for a second before it turned to ash as well.

"Do you remember what it was you told me before you took Drusilla away?" asked Willow as she took off her gloves, and placed them on the bed. Spike watched as she silently, while looking straight into his eyes, took off her boots, socks, and then her belt. She smiled at Spike while she crouched down and took out the pepper spray that was attached to the belt and laid it on the bed along with her bloody batons, and the sheathed knives.

"I remember," said Spike as Willow unzipped her top slowly, "you wanna give me a show? You…"

"I know where she is," said Willow as Spike stopped mid-sentence before narrowing his eyes at Willow. He started to struggle while Willow slipped out of her catsuit, and threw it to one side before standing nude in front of the struggling Spike. While struggling Spike saw the scars on her body, and struggled more as she tilted her head at him. She told Spike that he restraint can't be broken. She explained that it was that exact same spell which was used on Angel a month ago, "and he couldn't break out of it. And he's supposed to be stronger than you."

"You touch Dru… and…"

"You'll kill my family?" mocked Willow as she grabbed the batons and then jumped onto Spike's bed. She jumped on it for a few times before telling Spike, with an impressed look on her face, that the bed seemed really comfortable, "they are already dead. Anyway, other than your bed. You really have bad taste."

"If you touch Dru…" Spike wasn't able to finish what he wanted to say since a baton was slammed into the side of his head. He cursed Willow before turning back to look at her with a bruise developing on the side of his head, "I'll kill you."

"You saw me and smiled while I was being tortured by Angelus," said Willow as she started to beat him one again with the batons, "I'll show you what I learned in hell. Enjoy the view while you can… I just got the new uniform, and don't want your blood stains on it."

The man opened his mouth to speak during a break in the beatings, but Willow mentally pulled out his tongue until it was impaled into one of his fangs. Spike tried to scream but Willow kept his mouth open mentally as sweat gathered on her forehead while a smile appeared on her face. She dropped the batons on the floor before mentally grabbed the pepper-spray on the bed, and then sprayed the contents into his eyes and mouth. Stepping back while throwing the empty can to one side and listening to the screams of pain from Spike, Willow mentally grabbed her knives. Once they were in her hands, Willow mentally unsheathed them and dropped them to the sides of the bed where her batons were located.

Smiling, Willow looked up at Spike and said, "before I show you what I learnt. Do you know that there are so many ways to inflict pain on a body without much blood loss?"

"Take off these restraints," growled Spikes as he vamped out, "then we'll see about me sending you to meet your parents."

"I was restrained and helpless back the, just like you now," said Willow calmly as she held out her knives by her side, "you get to experience what you saw me go through when Angelus beat and burned me. I will make you hurt before I put you out of your misery. But just before I do? I'll tell you exactly what I'll do to your precious Dru. Don't worry about her. I already have a plan; but for now? Let's you and me have a little fun, huh?"

It would be three hours later that Willow would be wiping Spike's blood off her body with the man's own clothes. Once the blood was wiped off, Willow put her uniform back on while glaring at the pile of dust that used to be Spike. Once she had everything on, Willow then rushed out of the crypt to and flew into the sky. She headed for home and landed in the backyard. She was thankful that the neighbours were late sleepers as she slipped back into her home through the backdoor. It was all a matter of using her telekinesis to twist the doorknob on the inside, and then walking in once the door was unlocked.

Once inside the dark house, Willow took off her uniform and placed the catsuit into the washer in the basement. She then rushed up the stairs with the rest of her gear, placed them on her floor, and then hopped into the shower. She felt the warm water flow down her skin as she remembered flashes of Spike screaming in pain.

"One down," said Willow as she lay both her hands on the wall in front of her, and leaned forward. She shivered at the feeling of the water going down her back as she closed her eyes. Willow wondered if Drusilla had a vision of Spike's death; the former redhead told herself that she had to perform another location spell to find out if she was on the move.

 **Sunnydale High School Library, the next day, 1000 hours.**

Willow performed a location spell that very night after her shower to ensure that Drusilla was in the same general area in Paris. Willow was already was mentally prepared for what she wanted to do, but she wanted to brush up on her human anatomy before reading up online on the proper way to bless items. And then she'd be off to Paris in two days, at least that was the place.

Willow knew that she couldn't hide her feelings on what she was about to do to Drusilla; feelings of anger and anxiousness. So Althanea, who could sense that anger from Willow, asked her why she was really leaving for a trip to Paris.

"It's supposed to be our anniversary," said Willow softly as she sat on a seat at the Sunnydale High library where Giles was still working, with Althanea facing her from the other side of the table. The other Scoobies were in their classes when Willow made the surprise announcement. Upon hearing about this sudden trip and Willows feelings of anger, a suspicious Althanea leaned forward while asking Willow the real truth about why she wanted to go to Paris.

"Oz and I wanted to go to Paris.. you know… just the two of us," said Willow as she looked down at the table while thinking about Oz, "before our senior year started. And… well, I spent months recovering after coming back from Hell, and then I continued my recovery after Borzan was finally defeated. And now, I guess I just want to spend at least my first anniversary of the two of us being together. Even if it means going by myself."

"Are you certain you can go on your own, Willow?" asked Giles while Althanea continued to stare at Willow, who was staring and nodding her head at Giles.

"Yes," was the reply from the former red-head.

"Buffy and the others finish their semester in two months," said Althanea with a frown, "can't you wait until then?"

"Our anniversary's in a few days, Althanea," said Willow who was trying to control her emotions while thinking to herself that there was no way to tell where Drusilla would be in two months. Willow was certain that Althanea would know that something was wrong if she changed the location of the anniversary to another city. No, Willow had to leave for Paris as soon as possible. There was a part of her that felt lighter after Spike was dusted, and now all that remained was Drusilla.

And Willow wanted to end the mad vampire to gain some measure of closure in her mind.

"Willow," said Althanea gently, "let us go with you. Look, you have your GED in three months, and once you've taken the exam, all of us can take a trip to Paris."

"But…"

"I know it's your anniversary," said Althanea reaching forward and gently holding onto Willow's hand, "and it's not that we don't think you're unable to leave on your own and…"

"It sounds like it," whispered Willow as she looked away from Althanea.

"Please?" asked Althanea as she sensed unease from Willow, however she couldn't tell if it was from being asked to postpose her anniversary, or if there was something else. All the witch knew was that there was something that Willow wasn't telling her. Althanea tried to convince Willow that it was better to make the trip together for a week in three months. She and Giles told Willow that she could spend a day with just herself and her memories of Oz; and the rest of the week they would have fun with Buffy, Faith, Tara, and the others.

"What do you say, Willow?" asked Giles as Althanea felt her breath being stuck in her throat as they waited for the former redhead's response, "we go together?"

"Fine," said Willow as she closed her eyes before pursing her lips together. Althanea released the breath she was holding in while gently squeezing Willow's hand. She then told Willow that she was glad they'd be able to go together. Willow nodded her head as she thought of a back-up plan, and then realized something that she should have thought about earlier.

If she had, then she would never have had to ask to leave for Paris.

Willow got up off her seat, telling Giles and Althanea that while she would have rather gone to Paris by herself, she thought it would actually be nice to have everyone together. After leaving the library with an agreement to visit Paris in three months, Althanea and Giles looked at each other in concern.

In the meantime, Willow headed back to her bicycle and rode back home. Once at home, she rushed up the stairs, turned on the computer and typed in a few words on the keyboard.

And once she got the answers she needed on a website, Willow smiled and printed out the page. She then took the page, went back out the door and got on the bicycle before heading to the magic shop as fast as she could. There were a few ingredient's she needed to get before she headed to a gas station where she bought a container and then filled it half way with gas. She told the attendant sweetly that her car ran out of fuel, and so she had to cycle all the way to buy some gas. Hurrying along, Willow paid and then filled the canister under the watchful eye of the attendant, and then placed the heavy container on the left side handlebar of her bicycle. Willow told the young male attendant that she would be alright, and then rode… while carefully balancing herself, out of the station and onto the street.

 **Spike's Crypt, 1100 hours.**

It would be thirty minutes later that she rode to the cemetery that contained Spike's crypt. Willow stopped the bike outside the crypt, and then took the canister in her hands, as well as the bag of magical items that was hanging from the other handlebar. She then walked into the crypt, and down to Spike's former bedroom. She put down the bag from the magic shop and the canister of fuel while hoping that the person whose help she needed wouldn't tattle on her.

Willow then turned and held her hand out towards the canister while getting on her knees. She whispered a spell as her eyes closed slowly while the canister started to hum and glow an eerie blue colour. Opening her eyes after a few minutes, Willow looked into the canister and smiled… one part of her plan was complete.

She then started her next phase.

Willow lit a candle from the bag, and then spoke the words that would summon the demon who would help satiate her vengeance; Anya.

"Anyanka," Willow whispered as she looked at the flickering flame while a slight breeze started to brush against her, "I beseech thee, in the name of all women scorned – come before me."

The breeze suddenly vanished just as a form appeared to Willow's left.

"Willow?" asked Anya as the young woman blew out the candle and turned towards the vengeance demon who had on her human face. She started at Willow in disbelief, and then at the room she found herself in, and then back at Willow with her eyes narrowed, "why.. why did you call me? Willow, what are you doing and…"

"You give out vengeance on behalf of women who have been hurt," said Willow as she took a step towards the still surprised Anya, "we don't know each other that well, but I need your help."

"Willow, why did you call me? Do you know what Xander will say if he find out that you called me, and that I…"

"I want vengeance on behalf of someone who hurt me," said Willow staring at Anya who was shaking her head, and asking Willow to think about what she was about to do. Willow told Anya she knew exactly what she was doing, "my love was taken away from me, Anya."

"Willow," interrupted Anya as she walked forward and gently held onto her shoulders, "you…"

"How would you feel if a monster killed Xander?" said Willow as she looked into Anya's eyes, "you'd kill him. Don't lie. Drusilla killed Oz... she took away the one person I loved. And I demand vengeance."

"But…"

"All I want for you to do is bring her here," said Willow as she pointed to a corner of the room, "and that is all the vengeance I need. And then I can finish the job. Anya, I want to have some peace and move on."

Anya knew that Willow was right, she would kill anyone who hurt Xander. She would kill them without any remorse. Anya looked into Willow's eyes and knew in her heart that none of this was a joke. She then glanced at the bed and noticed the grey coloured dust, and then she looked back at Willow and asked where she summoned her.

"Spike's place," said Willow while Anya just looked at the young woman. Anya stood still and breathed in while Willow asked for her help, "please, help me.."

It would be a few seconds later that Anya's face transformed to its demonic visage before saying, "wish granted." Willow looked to her right and saw Dru, her eyes wide open with a maniacal smile on her face. The vampire told Willow that she had seen what was about to happen in a vision; a vision that came to her of the two facing each other. However, Dru added that the vision had the battle between the two of them in Paris. And the vampire lost.

"But now the future has shifted," said Dru before saying that the outcome would also change before she vamped out.

"You killed my prince," snarled Drusilla as her smile vanished, only to be replaced by a look of rage, "don't think I haven't seen that either."

Willow waved her hand and mentally knocked Drusilla to one side just before the vampire leapt at her. The former redhead remembered what happened the last time they faced in the library so, as Drusilla started to get back to her feet, Willow used her powers to tear Drusilla's eyes out of their sockets and let them flop to the floor while the vampire screamed in pain. Anya mumbled that she performed that same vengeance on a man who betrayed his wife several years ago while Willow then mentally crushed Drusilla's larynx. The vampire held her neck with her hands while moving her mouth silently; she was unable to scream, talk, or see. Willow then mentally knocked down the vampire to the floor with a thud.

"You should go, Anya," said Willow softly as Drusilla thrashed on the floor while blood poured out of the holes where her eyes used to be, "just don't tell Buffy or the others?"

"I won't," whispered Anya as she looked at Willow while Drusilla's screams turned to hysterical laughter while she continued to thrash her arms and legs on the ground, "we haven't gone out much and… well, if you're all vengeanced out after this, then how about a trip to the mall. Or something?"

"Yea," answered Willow nodding her head before Anya teleported out.

Willow looked back at the still, but laughing, body of Drusilla and mentally lifted her up into the air, and then slammed her into the wall. Willow mumbled two spells, the first used the stone on the walls to restrain Drusilla. And the other spell created a soundproof barrier on the lower floor – no one from the top floor, or outside could hear what was about to happen. Willow smiled at the hysterical vampire whose face was now covered in blood before she turned around and walked to the canister that was filled with a black, viscous liquid. Willow picked the canister up with her hand, and then approached the cackling Drusilla. Willow used magic to float up while carrying the heavy canister, and then poured the contents over Drusilla's head.

Once it was empty, Willow flung the canister to the entrance, and then floated back down to the floor and took a few steps back. She watched, with her head tilted, as the liquid crept down Drusilla's body. A smile appeared on Willow's face before she turned around and headed to the entrance to the room. Once at the entrance, Willow picked up the canister and turned around while lifting her hand up to Drusilla's direction.

"Centuries ago, there was a tribe of monks who used to gain information from demons using a form of slow torture," said Willow as Drusilla 'stared' at her while continuing to laugh hysterically, "they called it Angel Fire. They would bless a flammable liquid, and then combine it with a spell to make a thick liquid. They would pour it on their enemies, usually demons, before lighting it on fire. And the amazing thing? The fire slowly kill the demon… the demon endured untold pain until the monks got their information. The story goes that once they get their information, the monks would accelerate the process using a spell. The spell kills the demon much, much faster. Oh, and one more thing, there is no way to put out the fire. Nothing in this world or the next can put it out until the thing it's burning turns to ash. Basically once the fires are lit, you die very, very slowly."

"My Prince! I'm coming my Prince!" yelled Drusilla before she laughed more hysterically.

"I set the match," said Willow as she looked at the palm of her hand while continuing to talk to Drusilla, "it's so easy to telekinetically vibrate the molecules in the air, Drusilla. And you know what happens then? Huh? Well? Dru? Oh, you don't?"

Willow mocked the screaming Dru who was now screaming for Angelus; telling the evil vampire that their princess had grown up.

"I am what you and Angelus made me," whispered Willow, slightly cringing at being called their princess. A warm ball of light, caused by the molecules in the air vibrating slowly formed while Willow stared at Drusilla, "this is for what you and Angelus put me through, this is for sending me to Hell and losing years of my life, this is for what you did to my relationship with my friends, and this is for what you did to Oz."

"He cried like a baby… all he could say was he loved you," screamed Drusilla before she laughed hysterically again.

"And I love him," mumbled Willow, "you will burn for years until you turn to dust. I will imagine you scream and beg me to end your life, but I'll never come back.. I'll never show you that mercy."

"Our Princess! Angelus! Our dark Princess has been born!"

"Goodbye, Drusilla," said Willow as she mentally pushed the ball of light towards Drusilla's body. The light touched the liquid, and Drusilla started to howl in pain as fire took over her body which hadn't dusted. At least not yet. Willow put her hand down and watched the screaming, burning woman before mumbling, "and may God have mercy on the both of us."

Turning around and walking out the entrance to Spike's room, Willow walked down the hallway with Drusilla's screams still in her ears. She was doing to do the same plan in Paris if she had gone alone, but Willow now understood that postponing the trip for another time was probably the best thing that could have happened. Willow walked up the stairs to the top floor, and the magic took over in silencing the sounds of screaming. Facing the relative quiet of the crypt, Willow closed the hatch to the lower level, put her hands in her pockets, and then whistled while walking out the door of the crypt to her bicycle. She put the canister and the bag of items from the magic shop on the handle bars while feeling a heavy weight lift off her shoulders.

With everything quiet around her, Willow smiled before pedalling off to her house to store the canister and the materials from the magic shop. And then, she was going to take her time to prepare for the trip to Paris with Buffy, Faith, and the others.

For Willow, after having so many lows, she knew that this was the time that everything would be looking up for her.

TBC.


	40. Chapter 40

**Paris, France, two months later.**

Willow opened her eyes upon feeling a warm arm around her waist. She looked out into the dark hotel room, at the lights of the Eiffel Tower in the distance while moaning with a smile on her face as she placed her hand on the arm around her waist. She looked over her shoulder before lying on her back and kissed the orange haired young man who returned the kiss. Willow felt his hand stroke the side of her hips over her tank-top before she broke the kiss and caressed his face. She looked into his eyes, and then at his lips while she brushed her thumb on his chin, and then she looked back into his eyes.

"You and me, Oz," she whispered as Oz kissed her cheek, and then her lips before pulling back, "we're here. Where you and I were supposed to go for our anniversary; Paris, France."

Willow looked up at Oz who nodded his head without saying a word while he placed his elbow on the bed and ran his hand through Willow's white hair. The other hand was caressing her cheeks while he continued simply staring into her eyes… with Willow feeling that he was looking right into her soul.

"I know you're not here," said Willow as Oz tilted his head and a small smile appeared, "I know you're buried deep underground in Sunnydale, but I'd like to think you're looking over me. I like to think you're close. I killed Spike, and Drusilla's going to be burning and screaming for another month; I've avenged you and I've killed one of the people who watched me get tortured, one of the ones who probably was around when Angelus ordered your death. But Angel? I had my chance to kill him. He did unspeakable things to me and… and I couldn't kill him."

Oz leaned down and kissed Willow's lips softly before pulling back with a smile.

"What are you trying to tell me?" she asked looked up at the young man, "that I should kill him?"

Willow gave a small smile as Oz frowned.

"So I don't kill him," whispered Willow as she looked away while Oz kissed her cheek, "maybe Tara's right. I shouldn't forgive him, and I shouldn't forget, but I have to find a way to move on. She said that I've already had my confrontation with him, and that I won. I won by not killing him… that my humanity won out because I didn't kill the wrong person. That I didn't kill Angel instead of Angelus. If his soul was gone, I would have killed him, OZ. He would be dust instead of being mentally tortured."

Willow recalled Tara gently telling her that from what she understood, Angel and Angelus were completely different people. Willow remembered listening that Angel would always remember what he did… it was something he did to a very good friend and it would haunt him for the rest of his long life.

"And maybe that's enough," said Tara a few months ago as she leaned forward while Willow remembered looking out the window at Althanea's house where they used to have these therapy sessions.

Back in the present day, Willow looked up at the silent Oz and whispered, "maybe Tara's right, it should be enough that he suffers every day. And if I did kill him, the Buffy and the others wouldn't ever forgive me. Or they would try to stop me and… and I would lash out and… and I would do… do terrible things, Oz."

"But you didn't," 'Oz' said as Willow smiled before taking a deep breath and then looking to the left side where she saw Tara sleeping soundly on the bed opposite her. The blonde was covered under a blanket before Willow looked back up at Oz, "what do I do now? Buffy has Riley, Faith has Graham, Giles has Jenny… and yes, I'm calling her Jenny since technically I'm little over a thousand years older than her. Joyce is dating that Brian guy; leaving me, Tara, and Althanea the only single people in the City of Love."

The vision of Oz told Willow that she had to move on in every way; from her anger, from her loss, and from her love for him, to new experiences.

"Hey! Willow!" yelled a female's voice as the smiling face of Oz vanished, as did the surrounding area and the sleeping form of Tara. Willow felt the soft mattress she was lying on shaking while hearing the sounds of two girls screaming. Willow opened her eyes to bright sunlight streaming through a gap in the curtains hitting Tara's yellow hair as she sat up, her back facing Willow while Faith was jumping at the end of her bed. The white haired young woman then turned to see Buffy jumping up and down on her bed. Willow rolled off the bed and landed on her feet while Buffy grinned.

"Buff!" cried Willow covering her ears, her eyes still groggy because of the jet lag before looking at the bedside clock, "it's… oh dear God it's only seven in the morning."

"I know," chuckled Buffy as she flipped herself off the bed and landed onto the floor. Tara placed an arm around Faith's shoulder, who also landed on the floor, and whispered 'show off'. Willow walked around her bed before Buffy wrapped her arm around hers. Buffy then nudged Willow's arm with her shoulder before saying that this was the day of her anniversary.

Faith reminded Willow that she had been planning this day for months, "and while you're with your memories of Oz. Me and B here are gonna go get some dates for both Tara and Althanea."

"Faith," whined Tara with her eyebrows raised in surprised while shaking her head, "I.. I don't think I want to…"

"Take it easy, Tara," said Buffy as Tara released a sigh of relief at the interruption, "take a deep breath. Willow's going to be busy the whole day, which leaves you, me, and the others to head out for some sight-seeing."

"Mr. Giles said he's taking us to the Louvre first," said Tara shyly nodding her head as she sat on her bed while Faith folded her arms over her chest and murmured that her first Watcher, Dina Dormer, wanted to take her to the Louvre a week before she was killed. Willow looked at the young woman and gave a small smile. Over the past few months, she had started getting familiar with Faith, Anya, and Tara… the three of whom she barely knew just after returning from Hell. But they had been getting closer ever since the death of Borzan.

Buffy approached Willow and reminded her to get ready; that she didn't want her to be late for her 'date' with Oz.

"Thanks," Willow whispered as Buffy hugged her tight. Over the past few months thanks to sessions with Tara, Willow and Buffy were slowly but surely repairing their strained friendship. The both of them even went together a few times when Tara wanted them to discuss Willow hiding her powers from her and the Scoobies, as well as hiding her nightly activities as Nighthawk more than a year ago. Over time, it seemed to Willow that the bond between her and Buffy started to strengthen more with each passing day. Back in the hotel room, Buffy whispered in Willow's ear that she wanted the redhead to relay a message to Oz.

"Tell him I said I'm sorry," whispered the Slayer before she parted and looked into Willow's eyes.

"He'll say it wasn't your fault," replied Willow softly as they placed their forehead's against each other. It was a few seconds later that Buffy and Faith, including Tara, headed for the room that Buffy and Faith were sharing in the attached suite next door. They opened the door, and then went into the room before closing the door behind them; leaving Willow alone.

Even though she and Tara were sharing a room together, Willow was uncomfortable changing in front of her. The former redhead didn't want the blonde witch to see the scars all over her body; in fact, she didn't want anyone to see the scars while she whispered at the image of Oz standing behind her to look away.

"I can't," said 'Oz' who was sitting on the bed. Willow looked at him, and then walked away while taking her tank-top off. Willow looked over her shoulder and gave a small while at 'Oz' whose lips was turned up into a smile as he leaned forward, "I love you just as you are, Willow. I always will."

"You're just saying that because you're just a figment of my imagination," Willow said softly while 'Oz' chuckled before saying that she was "absolutely right."

"But then again," 'Oz' reminded Willow as he got up off the bed. The young man walked towards Willow and cupped her cheeks with his hands and said, "you know that the real me would never reject you."

Willow stifled a smile as she took off her shorts while 'Oz' whistled. The former redhead then chuckled before she entered the washroom, and then the shower. Closing the shower door behind her, Willow turned the shower on to a warm setting as steam quickly frosted the glass. Willow looked to her left and saw that the figment version of Oz was gone, and then she turned to look at the front tiled wall. Willow looked up at the shower head before taking a step forward and felt the water hit her face and then cascade down her cheeks to the rest of her body. While Willow was taking aa shower, Tara was in Buffy and Faith's room with the blonde Slayer asking Tara if she was ever going to tell Willow that she was interested in her.

"Buffy!" cried Tara while Faith sniggered before heading into the washroom.

"If she comes with us to the club tonight," said Buffy sheepishly, "then she'll find out that you're into girls and… well, how do you think the both of us found out that you're into girls?"

Tara couldn't help but chuckle at the first time she, Buffy, Faith, Xander, and Anya went out to the Bronze. It was when Willow was in Devon; and that night Buffy had been dancing with a complete stranger. As was Faith. It would be when Buffy and Faith were tired that they headed back to the table, and pointed out a few guys for Tara to dance with. Tara didn't realize it until finding out much later, but Buffy and Faith noticed that her eyes were shifting from the young men they were trying to direct her towards. Instead, she was occasionally staring at the waitresses who were serving them their drinks, or two young women at the bar, or a blonde dancing with a few other girls on the dance floor.

When Faith jokingly said that she could try convincing one of the girls to dance with Tara, the blonde witch snapped her head forward the dark-haired slayer and opened her eyes wide. Tara's head was shaking 'no' while her face turned beet red when she believed that Faith found out the truth. However, Tara's reaction just confirmed the subject of Faith's teasing statement; that Tara was really into girls. Ever since then, Buffy and Faith were her wing-women, directing her to one girl after another.

Tara, however, never clicked with any of them. And Tara had an idea why.

Tara never told Buffy, Faith, or any of the other Scoobies, but she remembered her mother telling her that everyone in this life had a soulmate. Sarah, Tara's mother, couldn't find hers and so settled with her boyfriend, who eventually became her husband and Tara's father. Tara witnessed first-hand how her father treated her and Sarah when compared to her brother and the other female cousins on her father's side of the family. The two of them were treated like outsiders, like demons because of their gifts, while the female cousins were treated with reverence. Back in the present day, as Tara listened to Buffy saying how the girls in Paris could be different than the girls in Sunnydale, she thought back to what her mother whispered just before dying of cancer.

"Hold out hope, Tara," Sarah told her daughter while holding her hand. Sarah had asked for privacy… that her husband and son leave her alone with her daughter. Tara's father didn't like it one bit, but he still left with Donnie out the door and into the hallway outside the room. Tara looked into her mother's eyes with tears in her eyes, and listened as Sarah told her to not simply settle for the first person she meets, "you'll find your soul-mate, Tara… my shining star. You'll find someone who fits you…. and you'll fit him. The both of you will complete each other; but you just need to wait. Promise me."

"I promise," Tara whispered before leaning down and kissing her mother's forehead.

"When you come of age," Sarah said while holding Tara's hand, "find your way out. Leave this place and make your way in the world in complete freedom. Don't let your father or Donnie stop you."

"I.. I won't, momma," rasped Tara as she tried to hold back her tears. She could sense that her mother was fighting to stay in this life, to finish what she wanted to tell her daughter before leaving for the next world.

"I…. I have… have papers in the music box," said Sarah referring to the music box that Tara bought for her birthday several years ago, after saving up some money from doing chores in the neighbourhood, "I… I have acc… account… your father doesn't know about. Some… some inheritance from… from your grandmother. I.. I leave for you."

"Momma?" asked Tara.

"It… it's yours when I die," she whispered as Tara's eyes went wide, "leave this place, my shining star. Leave these people when you are able."

Tara remembered her mother, just before breathing her last, opened her eyes at Tara wide. Tara felt her mother's hand squeezing her own hand tightly before whispering, "I see… I see now. The.. the both of you… so bright. So… bright…, so…. Bright…"

"Momma?" whispered Tara as she felt her mother's hand loosen and then fall limp onto the bed. All the machines taking her vital signs started to beep loudly as Tara cried for her mother whose eyes were still open while looking straight at her, "Momma!"

Back in the present-day Tara shook her head while Buffy was starting at her concerned. The blonde Slayer told Tara that she looked as if she was a million miles away just as the door to the washroom opened up and Faith walked out with a towel covering her body and another towel around her hair. Tara told Buffy that she was just thinking about what her mother would say if she knew that she had gone to Paris with some friends.

"She'd say, 'Party on!'" smirked Faith as she shimmed her shoulders while swaying her hips. Buffy and Tara chuckled when Faith grinned before drying her hair with the towel. At the same time, Buffy whispered at Tara, asking if she was really doing alright. Tara nodded her head, and then the blonde Slayer got up just as there was a knock on the door leading to their suite.

"Yeah, Will, come on in," said Buffy who stood up off the bed while the door opened up and Willow walked into the room. The white haired young woman was wearing a pair of black jeans and a long sleeved and high collared turquoise blouse as she waved at Buffy and Tara, who smiled back at her asking if she was ready to leave.

"Yea," replied Willow as Tara got up off the bed, "sorry about being a bit anal about the whole 'I don't like changing in front of others' thing. But.. I mean… I've got the scars and…"

"I understand," said Tara nodding her head. Willow smiled back at the young blonde witch, and then turned to Buffy and Faith, telling the both of them that she was going to be heading out. Willow then turned to Tara and said that she'll see her and the others later in the evening.

"Meet us at the Monseigneur Club," said Faith pronouncing the name of the club in a husky voice while Willow, Buffy, and Tara chuckled, "we'll have some fun after your date?"

"How about tomorrow all of us head out together?" asked Willow, "I was thinking that I'd just like this day for myself and… well, and for Oz. Tomorrow, we'll head for the Moulin Rouge."

"We can do that," said Buffy before she hugged Willow again. The former redhead placed her hands-on Buffy's back and held her tight for a few seconds before breaking the hug. Willow looked at a waving Faith, and then at Tara who seemed to quickly look away before looking back at her once again. Willow didn't give it any mind as she told Tara that the room they shared was now exclusively hers.

"Again, sorry, Tara," said Willow.

"It's understandable, Willow," replied the blonde witch. She then turned and told Buffy and Faith that she was going to go take a shower. She mentioned that Faith should wake up Giles and Jenny, and that she would wake up Althanea. The two Slayers nodded their heads before Tara turned to look at Willow before telling her that she hoped this would be a day to remember for her.

Willow then nodded her head before waving at them. She then turned and opened the door to Buffy's room. Willow then walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind her, while Tara headed back into the room they shared. Smiling, she looked at the image of the orange-haired young man who smiled back at her.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Let's go," Willow replied as she walked down the hallway with her hands in her pockets. To Willow, Oz was walking beside her with his arm around her waist; but to anyone else, the young woman was walking down the hallway by herself with a gentle smile on her face.

TBC.


	41. Chapter 41

**Paris, France, 2230 hours.**

With Riley and Graham picking up the slack in regards to fighting vampires in Sunnydale for the next few days, Buffy and Faith were enjoying themselves as they danced with one guy after another. The both of them even introduced Althanea to a few men who had asked for their number. The two of them would say that they were already taken before leading the men by the hands to the attractive witch. Eventually, she ended up on the dance floor with Buffy and Faith while Tara was sitting at their table stirring her drink. She watched them dance, rejecting one girl after another who they were pointing at, one was at the bar and another two were on another table, while continuing to dance. Tara sighed while recalling that Giles and Jenny had gone for a romantic dinner and that Willow was on her own special 'date'.

Tar sighed again as she leaned back on her chair when a hand gently fell on her shoulder. Looking at the hand, Tara was about to ask Willow how the 'date' went; but stopped when she looked up at the face. The young woman had soft features on her face, brown eyes covered with spectacles, and short bright red hair.

"Hello, Cherie," said the woman in a French accent as she placed her other hand on the table, "I hope you don't mind, but I see you here alone, and I just have to wonder why."

"Umm... hi," said Tara with a small smile and glancing at the dancing Buffy and Faith before looking away from the stranger and taking a sip of her drink, "I'm just waiting for my friends; so I'm not really alone... I mean not technically."

"I'm with my friends too," the stranger whispered as she leaned into Tara's ear, "but they're busy with their own partners."

"Oh?" asked Tara as she turned her head towards the young woman again. Her face was so close to Tara's ear while whispering that, when Tara turned her head, her nose brushed with the mysterious young woman's nose. The young woman then smiled while looking into Tara's eyes and said that they were two single women who needed each other.

"I'm actually leaving for the states in a few days," said Tara as the young woman's perfume wafted into her nostrils, "so.. so I don't think we could be in a relationship since.. well, you know what they say about long distance relationships huh?"

"I never said anything about a relationship," chuckled the young woman as she looked at the dancing Buffy, Faith, and Althanea before looking into Tara's eyes again. She then shifted her gaze to the blonde's lips, nose, and then to the blouse and shirt knee high skirt Tara was wearing. She then looked back up at the surprise on Tara's face and asked softly if she was what she suspected, "you do prefer other women, do you not? While I'll be disappointed if you are not interested in other girls, I will leave. But I hope I am not mistaken."

"You.. you're not," said a nervous Tara, "it.. it's just that I haven't always been... you know... approached for..."

"A night of carnal pleasure?" chuckled the young woman as Tara's face went red. Tara then started stammering while the woman continued to chuckle before she leaned forward and nibbled on Tara's ear. The woman heard Tara gasp as she kissed behind Tara's ear before she pulled back and looked into her eyes once again, "well? Am I wrong?"

"No," whispered Tara before she leaned forward and kissed the young woman under the flashing lights of the club while hundreds of men and women were dancing on the dance floor as music blared from the speakers. Tara felt the woman grab the back of her head before pulling her in so that her tongue could go deeper into her mouth.

After that, all that Tara remembered was a blur as she left with the woman, Eliza, after telling Buffy and Faith that she met someone. The both of them then headed for Eliza's small apartment where all Tara remembered was the both of them taking off each others clothes, then the soft feel of the mattress on her back, followed by flashes of redhead hair, and a name escaping her lips before she finally passed out with Eliza on top of her hours later.

"Oh, Willow," Tara whispered as she tried to catch her breath while Eliza breathed onto her neck as she fell asleep. The blonde held Eliza's sweat covered body tight while panting into her ear. Tara stared at the ceiling as the fog in her mind lifted slowly, and the memories of the last four hours of pure pleasure came crashing down on her. Tara looked at the redhead lying on her chest fast asleep with a smile on her face, and then shook her head before looking back up at the ceiling.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the situation she found herself in; not only had she done something that she knew was out of character for her in going for a one night stand, but she whispered Willow's name following her last release. It was after that when Eliza climbed up to her chest and collapsed. The both of them were exhausted, but Tara felt as if she betrayed Willow somehow.

She couldn't explain it, but she felt that Willow wold be angry at her.

'You were lonely, Tara' the witch thought to herself, 'a beautiful girl came on to you, and you accepted her advances. Things moved quickly and now you're in her home after a night of what you have to admit was really good sex.'

Tara then sighed and looked out the window before wondering to herself why she still felt as if Willow was going to be disappointed in her.

After a few hours of sleep, Tara found herself waking up to Eliza snuggling into the nape of her neck while mumbling that it was time to wake up. The groggy Tara ran her hand through Eliza's red hair and moaned while Eliza started to kiss the side of her neck while mumbling that they had to take a shower together before leaving. Eliza whispered that she wanted this to be a great experience, and exclaimed it was indeed a greater than expected experience.

"I could have you every single night and I'd never get tired," hissed Eliza in Tara's ear.

Tara chuckled as Eliza started to tickle her. A few minutes later, Eliza then stopped and looked into Tara's eyes while saying that she would like to see her again.

"You said you will be here in Paris for the next three days," said Eliza as Tara placed her hands over her head and nodded, "I want to see you every night."

"I..."said a surprised Tara. She had expected this experience to be a one night stand, but now her heart raced as she wondered what else Eliza would be asking for.

"You are an amazing creature," said the Parisian as she gazed up and down at Tara before ending up looking into her eyes, "and I would like to be in your company until you have to leave."

"O.. Okay," Tara replied as a smiled appeared on Eliza's face before she leaned down and kissed Tara on the lips. The both of them got out of bed, kissing all the way, and then entered the shower. Tara kicked the door shut before the sound of the running water drowned out the sounds being made by the two women.

It would be another hour later that Eliza, now dressed in a short skirt and suit, accompanied Tara to her hotel before leaving for her work at an accounting firm. The blonde witch, who felt even more exhausted, kissed Eliza and then entered the lobby while her legs were still shaking and her body tingling as she recalled their encounter in the shower. Tara took the elevator up to her floor and then headed for the room she shared with Willow. Taking out her key card as she approached the door, Tara slid the key into the lock and waited for the electronic device to unlock the door. Opening the door slowly, Tara peeked in and saw that Willow was still fast asleep before walking into the room. Closing the door softly behind her, Tara took off her shoes and placed them quietly to one side before slowly walking past the foot of Willow's bed to the door leading to the washroom. Tara opened it and then closed it behind her while turning on the lights.

With her hair still damp, Tara stepped to the mirror over the sink and looked at herself as she recalled the previous night in all it's detail. She stared at the marks on her shoulders after taking off her blouse and then remembered moaning in pleasure when Eliza nibbled on her skin. Tara stared at all the marks before she turned and looked over her shoulder at the marks on her back. The bruises went down from her upper back all the way down.

Tara smiled before she yawned and then placed her hands on the sink. She steadied herself as her body felt weak, but she attributed this to the 'fun' she had with Eliza.

'I need sleep,' thought Tara to herself as she continued to look at the bruises all over her body. And Tara closed her eyes remembering every moment when she moaned at Eliza to not stop what she was doing. But Tara gave as well as she got, and she remembered the marks on Eliza's body when they showered together that morning. To Tara though, it seemed that it was Eliza who was more active than her… all Tara felt was exhausted. But she still wanted more of Eliza, Tara wanted to see her again.

Even though she wanted Eliza, Tara was still conflicted.

Tara turned again and faced herself in the mirror. There was a part of her excited to meet Eliza again later that evening, but there was another part that simply wanted to wait until Willow was past the pain of Oz's loss. And that was the conflict; she wanted Eliza… even though they just met, Tara wanted her. But she also wanted to wait for Willow to be ready.

'And what would you do until then, Tara?' she thought to herself as she put her blouse in the laundry hamper, 'Eliza's in the here and now, and Willow may never... she may never ever get over Oz. And when she does, she's straight... I mean there's no way to know if she'd even swing your way. How about you just enjoy Eliza's company? And worry about the rest later.'

Tara sighed before taking off her skirt and dropping it in the laundry hamper. She then walked out in her underwear and headed for her closet where she took out a pair of shorts and a tank top. Sensing that Willow was still asleep, Tara took off her underwear in the dark room and put on her shorts, and then while putting on her tank-top... Tara heard a soft voice behind her.

"Hey," whispered Willow while rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands as she lay on her side, "Tara?"

"Morning," Tara whispered as she turned around having put her tank-top and shorts on before leaning down on her bed and moving the covers to one side. All the while, Tara was looking at the green eyes looking back at her.. and all she remembered was the amazing night she had with Eliza. Tara then looked away while getting onto her bed, and then pulling the covers over her while yawning.

Once she was covered, Tara lay on her side and looked at Willow who had closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. And the two young women stared at each other for a few seconds before Willow was the first one who spoke.

"I didn't see you when I got in," Willow said remembering that when she entered the room last night,, Tara was nowhere to be seen and that her bed hadn't been slept on, "Faith and Buffy said you met someone?"

"Yea," answered Tara before releasing a yawn.

"Good," Willow said before yawning. Willow then added that she felt that Tara was being restricted from having a life of her own ever since she returned to Sunnydale. Tara looked on while Willow also added that even Althanea seemed to be exhausted since she was helping her recover as well from her ordeal in hell, "and I heard that Althanea found a date too, She and the guy are going on another date tonight."

"Me.. me too," Tara said with small smile as Willow smiled while raising her body with her elbow.

"I'm glad," she said while Tara looked on, "I guess you and him… well… you know."

"Willow," yelped Tara who realized that she never mentioned to Willow that she preferred women. Tara then resolved to tell Willow at a later time while the former redhead chuckled. Tara then yawned before saying that she was just exhausted, and felt as if she couldn't move.

"He was that good, huh?" smirked Willow while Tara raised her eyebrows before saying, 'hey!'

"How was your date?" asked Tara with a smirk changing the subject. The blonde witch wondered how Willow would react if she found out Tara was with another woman, 'I should tell her… but not today. I'm exhausted.'

"It was magical," Willow smiled before adding, "it was like Oz was next to me the entire time. We went everywhere we discussed going before senior year, and when we returned to this room. He told me to... I mean he didn't really tell me to do anything.. he think it was more a figment of my own imagination. Anyway, he said that I should start to move on with my life."

"Does that mean you'd be looking?" asked Tara. The blonde witch knew she should be excited about this, but for some reason, Tara found that she couldn't be excited. She was feeling too tired, and she didn't know why. The only reason she came up with was the amazing sex with Eliza. Tara's eyes felt heavy while Willow said that she wasn't going to start looking anytime soon. She just wanted to stabilise her life before even thinking about dating again.

"Nice," Tara said before closing her eyes and slurring her voice, "I sleep now, Willow. Talk again soon."

"Sure, Tara," Willow said before she too closed her eyes, and the both of them slept.

In the meantime, Eliza was walking past a building when she saw her reflection on the glass was of a café. The woman smiled at her reflection as he eyes glowed purple momentarily. Eliza then continued to head towards her job safe in the knowledge that she would be seeing Tara again later that night.

'What a creature,' Eliza thought to herself, 'such powerful magic intertwined with her life-force. It will sustain me for decades before I have to feed again. I usually go for men, but sensing Tara's magic- more powerful than the other three who arrived in the club with her- I could try being a lesbian. If only for the next two days.'

Eliza then chuckled as she continued on her way.

TBC.


	42. Chapter 42

**Willow and Tara's hotel room, 1200 hours.**

It was only two hours ago that Willow woke up to find Tara still fast asleep. As she got out of bed and placed her feet on the carpet, Willow guessed that the blonde witch was simply tired from her late night escapades. Willow, her back facing Tara, took in a few deep breaths before she got onto her feet and stood up. Yawning while stretching her arms over her head, Willow then walked over to the door that led to the suite next door and knocked.

"Yea," yelled Faith while Willow chuckled opening the door to the next room slowly as Buffy grumbled obscenities. Willow saw Faith sitting on the bed while typing on her laptop, with Buffy stirring in her sleep thanks to the three of them staying up until the wee hours of the night. Willow turned her head and looked over her shoulder at the back of Tara's head and she felt a chill when she heard the young woman breathing gently in her sleep. Shaking her head, Willow then turned towards the open door and watched as Faith waved her inside, and then patted on the spot next to her on the bed.

Willow was about to head into the room when there was another chill that went up against her spine. She remembered a chill like this in Hell when her body was frozen so that she could be eaten by a nest of ravenous demons with blades for hands. It was a feeling of fear as she told Faith that she'd be right back. Faith gave Willow the thumbs up sign before closing the door and quietly walking around Tara's bed until she was looking down at Tara's face sticking out of the blanket since her entire body was covered up to her ears.

To the former redhead, Tara looked slightly tired but otherwise, there seemed to be nothing out of place. Willow wanted to wake her up but then thought the better of it before shaking her head. Willow thought to herself that, while she accepted what happened to her in Hell, it couldn't be forgotten and those memories would come out at certain times since she spent a little over a thousand years there. Willow crouched down and gently placed the back of her hand on Tara's forehead. She then sighed when Tara's body was warm to the touch… the blonde with didn't have a fever.

To Willow, Tara seemed to be alright, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something amiss. After brushing Tara's hair from her forehead and to the back of her ear, Willow remembered the blonde witch being the first human she met after being brought back from hell.

'You weren't scared,' thought Willow to herself as she stood up, 'thank you. For not being scared, and for helping me through my trauma.'

Noting that there was nothing physically wrong with Tara except for her exhaustion, Willow didn't have any suspicion that there could be something mystically wrong. Especially since they had just arrived in France. She then walked around the bed again and opened the door to Faith and Buffy's room. Willow then closed the door behind her while grinning at the sleeping Buffy, and bit her lower lip.

It was Faith who started laughing hard when Buffy suddenly woke up and cried out in surprise once Willow ran up to, and then jumped onto her bed. The former redhead was jumping on the bed while Faith giggled; the former redhead gaining her revenge for the way Buffy woke her up the previous morning. Once Buffy had rolled off the bed and onto the floor, the Slayer got up to her feet and narrowed her eyes at Willow who flipped off the bed and landed on the carpet before sticking her tongue out at the Slayer.

Buffy frowned while wiping her eyes before saying that the former redhead was going pay for waking her up. Willow just chuckled before sitting next to Faith on the bed and was looking at some of the videos from the Moulin Rouge, the place they were heading for later that night with Tara, Althanea, Xander, Anya, Giles, and Jenny. As the two of them watched videos of the dances, followed by funny cat videos that had them laughing so hard that Buffy, who lay down again, had no choice but to throw a pillow at Faith and Willow.

In the meantime, after Willow shut the door behind her and entered the next suite, Tara was shivering in her sleep as she wrapped the blanket around herself tight. She opened her eyes slightly upon hearing the laughter from the next room, and her mind was telling her to wake up and enjoy the day with Willow and the others. However, Tara couldn't think about moving at all; her body was exhausted. All she could do was shiver as she closed her eyes again while licking her lips as her mind wandered to Eliza.

Tara wanted her.

She shivered at the thought of Eliza touching her, tasting her, biting her, and grinding against her. Goosebumps rose on Tara's skin as she looked at the sunlight being filtered through the sheer curtains. Tara then closed her eyes to the sounds of Eliza whispering in her ear last night that she was a magnificent creature. Tara shivered even more as she felt, even though she was alone, Eliza's fingers brushing down her side and then to the small of her back.

"I'm yours, Eliza," Tara whispered as Eliza appeared in her mind once again. She was whispering in Tara's ear while they lay in Eliza's bed.

"You're mine, Tara, you magnificent creature. Tell me you're mine. Tell me. Tell me."

"I'm yours," Tara whispered as she lay alone in her own empty hotel room, "I'm yours, Eliza. I'm yours for all time."

It would be two hours later that Tara opened her eyes again and saw Willow in a blue dress, that covered her scars, with her back to the sleepy witch. Tara tried to get up but found it hard to even move… her mouth only able to whisper Willow's name.

"Hey," said the former redhead as she turned around and looked at the dazed face looking back at her, "look who's finally up."

"Time?" Tara whispered as she felt her strength at such low levels.

"It's one in the afternoon," said a grinning Willow as she put on some shoes before getting on her feet and walking over to Tara, "I didn't want to disturb you. I.. well, Buffy, me, and Faith really figured you had a great night with your guy and you needed some sleep. We're heading out for lunch, and then… well, Giles is our guide today. If you want, we can wait for you… I mean yesterday was just a me day while you guys enjoyed yourselves. And today I was hoping that all of us could… you know… go out?"

"I'm so tired, Willow," whispered Tara as she wrapped her blanket around her body tightly, "I think you should go on ahead without me."

"Are you alright?" asked Willow as she stopped by Tara's bedside and then lay her hand gently on her forehead. However, she just felt a gentle warmth… it seemed as if, like a few hours ago, Tara didn't have any fever.

"Just tired," Tara mumbled as she looked up at Willow, "I think being with my friend took a lot out of me."

"You need to get outside, Tara," said Willow as she crouched down, "the sunlight will do you good. Plus, you haven't eaten any breakfast."

"So tired, Willow," she mumbled.

"Come on." Willow clapped her hands in an effort to keep Tara awake, and then have her take a shower before they head out together, "Xander, Anya, Giles, Jenny, Buffy, Faith, Althanea, you and me.. we're going out for lunch and then we're heading to the Moulin Rouge tonight."

"No, Willow," mumbled Tara, "I want to, but.. I'm so exhausted."

"Taking a shower would do you good, Tara," insisted Willow, "we're leaving the day after tomorrow, and that when we should…"

"Willow…" Tara whined shaking her head slightly.

"I'll take you to the shower if I have to," said Willow as Tara gave a small smile.

"I wish," mumbled Tara while Willow chuckled saying she was just kidding about taking her into the shower.

"But I'll wait here for you while you're under the warm water," said Willow as she slipped an arm under Tara's head, and then with her other hand reached for her blanket. Willow wanted to help her up while taking off the blanket at the same time, before pushing the young woman to the shower. As she pulled down the blanket from covering her neck, Willow narrowed her eyes at the bruises on Tara's shoulder and neck.

"Tara?" asked Willow staring at the red and black splotches, "how'd you get the bruises… oh… nevermind."

Willow guessed that the bruises must have come from her date last night. However, before Willow could say anything else, everything was a blur as the blanket was ripped off and Tara's hand shot out and wrapped its fingers tightly around Willow's throat. Willow was gasping for breath as she looked at the wild eyes staring back at her while she was swiftly pushed back onto the floor with Tara rolling off and then straddling her as another hand wrapped around Willow's throat. Every bit of the former redhead was telling her to fight back, but this was the gentlest person that Willow knew as Tara's thumbs pushed into her larynx. Willow didn't want to hurt her... every part of the former redhead was telling her to snap Tara's fingers before pushing her off, but Willow was in complete control as an idea popped into her head.

"This body belongs to her," Tara hissed as she leaned down, putting her power into squeezing Willow's throat, "you cannot have this body. This body is hers, Bitch."

Willow shifted her eyes to the wall and mentally pounded on it, as well as the door to the suite. She then looked back at Tara whose hair was wildly scattered and gasped for her to stop.

"This body cannot be touched," hissed Tara as the suite door opened with Buffy and Faith asking why Willow was pounding on the door, and then they saw Tara, "it is only for her… only for her… I belong to her."

"T!" yelled Faith as she rushed to Tara, and tried to pull her off Willow while Buffy tried to pry Tara's hands off Willow's throat.

"Tara!" yelled Buffy as she pried off the hands around Willow's throat with a grunt, leaving the former redhead gasping for breath. However, Tara turned her body and then elbowed Faith in the jaw, before she swung her fist at Buffy knocking her back and over the bed to the other side where she landed. Tara then went back to choking Willow. However, before she could wrap her hands around Willow's throat, the former redhead grabbed them telekinetically and pried Tara's arms, which were straining to move, apart from while doing everything possible not to hurt the witch.

"This body is hers," hissed Tara as Faith got back up off the floor, surprised at Tara's physical strength to knock Buffy across the bed. She then grabbed Tara's arm and pulled them back while she was growling at Willow, "this body is hers. Not yours, and…"

"I don't want your body," said Willow. Suddenly Tara went limp and collapsed in Faith's arms as Buffy got up and then rushed around the bed. She saw Tara lying in Faith's arms, and Willow panting while rubbing her throat.

"I'll call Althanea," said Buffy as she headed for the phone while Willow nodded her head as she scrambled to her feet while Faith lay the sleeping Tara on the carpet. Buffy then rushed in and stood by Willow, who was still rubbing her throat, and asked what happened. Willow explained everything up to the part where Tara tried to strangle her, and that Tara kept on saying that her body belonged to someone else.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Faith as she gently picked up Tara, and then lay her on the bed.

"And she said she was tired?" asked Buffy at Willow. "Will?"

"Yea," Willow responded nodding her head as she looked down at the sleeping Tara, "but she's got no fever, she' got no visible sign of the flu, like coughing, or a runny nose. But she said she's exhausted."

"Damn, that chick she was with last night must have been really good," an impressed Faith said while nodding her head, "not sure about the whole 'this body is hers' though".

"Chick?" asked a surprised Willow as she looked at Faith who slapped her hand onto her forehead while Buffy sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry," mumbled Faith looking at Tara, and then at Buffy, "I messed up."

"Chick?" asked Willow again with an eyebrow raised as Faith and Buffy turned to look at her, "you mean Tara's a… well… she drives on the other side of the road?"

"She likes girls," said Buffy nodding her head, "she didn't know how to tell you and…"

"Tara's gonna kill me," said Faith shaking her head, "can you hide it? Willow?"

"Yeah," Willow replied with a hint of surprise in her voice. She remembered Tara not going out with anyone in Sunnydale over the past few months, but she always assumed the witch was interested in guys and just hadn't found the right person. In fact, Tara didn't correct Willow when she said that Tara must have had a wonderful night with her guy. Shaking her head, Willow then looked up at Faith who asked if this new knowledge was going to be a problem. The former redhead shook her head before looking at Tara again just as there was a knock on her door.

Willow rushed to the door, opened it, and then stepped back as Althanea walked into the room asking if everything was alright. She looked at Willow shaking her head while closing the door and then nodded towards Tara. Althanea turned and gasped before rushing to the blonde witch. Althanea held Tara's hand and then sat down next to her before closing her eyes and whispering a spell. When she was done, Althanea opened her eyes again and turned to Buffy, asking her to call Giles and then call Anya. She then asked Faith to check the internet for the current address to a magic shop she used to frequent when she was living for a time in France several years ago.

"Willow," said Althanea, "her aura's starting to disconnect from her body. Something's trying to steal her soul and magic, and… well…. She's dying. It's like she can feel it, but she can't do anything. It's like torture, Willow. You more than anyone know what it's like, I… I need to prepare a powerful protection spell and something to reverse the effects."

"What should I do?" asked Willow.

"Go with Xander, Faith, and Anya to get the ingredients," said Althanea, "and I'll send Giles, Jenny, and Buffy to get some other supplies from a nearby store."

"Giles is on the way," said Buffy as she rushed back to Willow's room while Faith was checking the internet for the address of the shop Althanea gave her earlier. In the meantime, Buffy asked Althanea if she knew what was wrong with Tara. Althanea stared at the sleeping witch and then hovered her free hand over her body while narrowing her eyebrows. Althanea tilted her hand in confusion as she let go of Tara's hand and then leaned towards her shoulder. Althanea placed her hand over the bruise on Tara's shoulder and asked if it was received during the commotion.

"Faith pulled her back," said Willow, "and I just pounded on the walls and door with my T.K. We didn't hit her."

"I can feel the magic on these bruises as if magic was being sucked out," said Althanea just as there was a knock at the door. This time, Buffy opened the door to a concerned Giles, Jenny, Xander, and Anya. It was Anya, the Vengeance Demon, who rushed to Tara's side pushing past Buffy and Willow while Althanea was examining the bruise on Tara's shoulders and neck. Anya then asked Althanea if she felt any magic from the teeth marks.

"What teeth marks?" asked Willow as Buffy leaned forward and examined the bruises. She then looked up at Anya, and then back at the bruises again. Looking over the bruises again, Buffy finally managed to see the teeth marks, something which Althanea confirmed. It was then that Buffy said the bruises were probably hickeys given to her by her date.

"Are there more?" asked Anya as she lifted Tara's tank top to her abdomen while Xander and the others stared stunned at the number of bruises from which Althanea said she was sensing magical remnants. Anya and Willow then turned Tara to her side and looked in stunned silence at more bruises with magical remnants all over her back. They then lay Tara onto her back and covered her with the blanket.

"I didn't sense any magic," said Willow.

"It's almost non-existent," said Althanea shaking her head, "but it's there."

"I've seen this before," Anya added.

"What caused this?" asked Giles.

"A Succubus," said Anya as she folded her arms over her chest and looked at a surprise Althanea before looking at a surprised Giles. "And yes, I know that Succubae hunt males and steal their life forces through the power of orgasms. I mean, if I were a succubus then Xander would be dead from the number of orgasms he gave me last night."

Willow, Buffy, Faith, Giles, and Althanea all looked at Xander who had his face in his hands while saying, "oh God!"

"That's what he says too," said an excited Anya before turning back to Tara. Willow and Buffy patted Xander on the shoulder while Jenny chuckled and Giles rubbed his forehead in frustration. Faith then sniggered before asking Anya of they could do anything to help Tara. "We need to get her as far away from here as possible. Or we kill the Succubus."

"She looks in no condition to fly," Jenny said, "we probably won't be able to get her through the gate. They'll think she'll sick, or drunk."

"That's why I need for you, Giles, and Buffy to get some supplies while Willow, Faith, Anya and Xander gets some ingredients for a spell," said Althanea, "it'll restore her vitality, and when that happens, her magic and health will restore over time. Right now, she's severely weakened."

"Usually a succubus kills their prey in one go," said Anya, "I'm not sure why Tara's alive."

"We can ask just before killing it," said Buffy.

"Any way to track the thing that did this?" asked Faith.

"None," said Althanea shaking her head, "I can only sense Tara's magic on the bitemarks, but not the magic from the Succubus."

"Althanea," said Giles, "I think it best to leave Paris tonight."

"The potion should restore her enough to be lucid," said Althanea, "but from what happened to Willow, I'd say Tara is under the thrall of the creature. So we need another spell to keep Tara from lashing out."

"Won't the Succubus just follow us back to the States?" asked Willow.

"Succubae have their own hunting grounds," said Anya, "and they very rarely go out of it. I don't think that this one would leave Paris for Sunnydale to feed on just one person. There are more targets here it could feed on."

"We should go," said Giles, "we have our jobs to do, and we need to do them."

"We need to get out of here," said Willow.

"Sorry to put a break on your visit to Paris," said Jenny.

"I came here to celebrate my anniversary with Oz," said Willow, "and I've done that. Today and tomorrow were supposed to be a bonus. We can do this again after Tara's recovered. Or at least we could go to Disneyland… I doubt that place has Succubae."

"A Minnie mouse succubus would be kinda hot," Xander quipped. Every turned towards him, with Willow jokingly saying that there was something wrong with him. Xander nervously chuckled saying that he was simply joking before heading for the door. "Let's get the stuff we need to get for Tara."

The group left while Althanea stayed behind and began casting a powerful protection spell around the room, as well as a calming spell around Tara that would prevent her from lashing out at her.

In the meantime, Eliza was alerted to Tara lashing out at Willow several minutes ago from her office through a mental link. The woman gasped before getting up and then rushing out of her office, followed by exiting the building after telling her boss that she needed to buy some feminine hygiene products.

It was through the link that Eliza knew Willow had tried to put her hands on Tara, and that the witch lashed out. It was a defence mechanism that Eliza placed in Tara's mind so that no one else would touch her property… and Tara was her property. She also sensed that Tara's friends wanted to take her away following this outburst. And Eliza did not want that to happen. Tara's life-force mixed with her extraordinary amount of magic was Eliza's food… and she was not going to let them take Tara away from her. She ran for four minutes, as fast as she could, until reaching a field that was bordered by trees with the hotel just a short distance away.

Eliza ran to one of the thick-trunked trees with the Eiffel tower some distance behind her and sensed a protection spell being cast from the hotel. Pursing her lips as she looked up at the hotel before sensing another spell being cast, Eliza then looked downwards while standing behind the tree and saw the group from the club last night, and a few extra people, get into two cabs. Eliza laid her eyes on the redhead who entered the cab last and licked her lips.

Eliza could feel the magic coming off of Willow, and she wanted that too. She knew that two magical life-forces of such magnitude would keep her in the body of a young woman for a century before she had to feed again.

"You're mine after I take Tara," said Eliza as she eyed the cab with Willow driving off. Eliza then looked up at the twelfth floor and frowned. She was very aware that the protection spell around the hotel meant that she could not get into Tara's room. She also knew that Tara was out of the range of her thrall, but their mental link lasted as long as they were in Paris – her hunting ground. Knowing full well her limitations in being unable to get into the hotel itself to get to Tara's room, Eliza closed her eyes and mumbled a spell in an ancient language.

Back in Tara's room, Althanea narrowed her eyebrows when she felt magic pushing against her spell. She got up from sitting on the edge of Tara's bed and walked towards the window. She didn't see Tara open her eyes, and then turn her head at Althanea. Without making a sound, Tara got up and then stood up in her tank top and shorts.

"You dare try to take away this one?" said Tara as Althanea turned around only to be knocked out by the phone receiver smashing against the side of her head.

Back in the cab that carried Willow, Xander, Anya, and Faith, it had just made another turn when the former redhead felt a knot in her stomach. She looked out the window and narrowed her eyes at her reflection when she felt another knot in her gut.

"Turn the car," she said with worry on her face while she looked at the driver, "turn the car, turn the car."

"Willow?" asked Xander while the driver was saying something she couldn't understand in French.

"Anya, I don't have my phone with me so I can;t translate what he's saying. Could you tell him to turn the car?" said Willow, "I have a bad feeling. A really bad feeling. We need to head back to the hotel room."

Anya then told the driver to head back towards the hotel. The grumbling driver then started to turn his car and drive back towards the hotel. It took nearly three minutes thanks to traffic, but the taxi stopped at the other side of the road, and then Willow opened the door and rushed out with Faith behind her. Xander paid the driver and then rushed across the street and got into the hotel lobby with Anya. Willow was waiting at the elevator with Faith when she had a gut feeling that something wasn't right. She rushed back out to the entrance past Xander and Anya, both of whom she ordered to go up to her room. She handed them the keycard to her room and then rushed outside with Faith behind her.

"Red?" asked Faith to the non-red-haired Willow while Xander and Anya went on up to the room, "what's going on?"

"It's strange, and… I could feel it in my gut that Tara's… oh… there!" yelled Willow as she pointed to a figure in the distance. Faith turned her head from Willow and squinted her eyes at the blonde figure wearing a tank-top and shorts running fast towards another female figure standing next to a tree. "We need to go." Faith nodded her head and the both of them ran as fast as possible while the mysterious woman grabbed Tara's hand and the both of them started running.

Willow and Faith knew that the other two had a head start, and it was a second later that Faith pulled past the former redhead. They avoided cars and scooters as they ran across several streets with Faith, while running ahead of Willow, looked back and said that Tara and the 'other one' had gone into a building.

While Xander and Anya were helping up a groaning Althanea who was bleeding from the side of her head to the bed, Eliza and Tara ran through the building and out the back. Eliza then rushed into another building and closed the main entrance door behind her while pulling Tara along. They ran through one building after another until Eliza looked behind her and sensed Faith and Willow very far away. She had lost the two of them.

She then turned to Tara smiling back at her while her forehead was covered in sweat before asking if she was ready.

"I'm yours completely," Tara breathed.

"Then come," Eliza said before he led Tara to a nearby hotel, "I have a feeling your friends have means to find you. Unfortunately, by the time I am finished, all they will find is your body."

"Then take me," breathed Tara again before Eliza turned and kissed her as a couple walked past them. She then stepped back and pulled Tara into a small hotel. In the meantime, Faith and Willow were both panting while looking around at all the buildings around them. The Slayer said that she lost track of them.

"The bitch with Tara obviously knows this place better than us," Faith said before taking a few deep breaths. Willow nodded her head while taking out her phone and called her room. "Red, can you use a location spell to track her?"

Willow said that she needed something that belonged to Tara in order to get her exact location when the ringing on the phone stopped. It was Xander who picked up before saying that Althanea had a gash and bruise on the side of her head, which Anya was examining.

"Xander," said Willow, "I need you to hand the phone to Anya."

"Hold on," Xander said noticing the near panic in his friend's voice before he handed the phone to Anya.

"Willow?" asked the Vengeance demon, "have you found…"

"I need you to do a location spell on Tara," said Willow as Anya slipped into Buffy and Faith's room while Xander remained with Althanea, "do the spell and then give us directions."

"How the hell did the thing with Tara get her?" asked Faith.

"You heard that, Anya?" asked Willow on the phone.

"I felt the protection spell around the room, Willow," Anya said, "I… I don't know how the Succubus could have gotten to her."

"Her life's in danger, Anya," said Willow as Faith scanned her surroundings before looking at Willow again, "I need her location. And I need a cloaking spell for me and Faith. What we're about to do? Well, we don't want eyes to see us… human and electronic. And I need something that'll burn a body... and I mean leaving no trace."

"Not even DNA," said Faith as Willow nodded her head.

"I'll call you once I have it," said Anya before she started on a location spell after retrieving a used blouse from Tara and Willow's room.

In the meantime, Eliza shut the door to the hotel room while a smiling Tara walked back towards a bed. Eliza licked her lips as she felt Tara's magical infused life-force calling out for her.

"I wanted to savour the moment with you, my lovely creature. I wanted to take my time with you," whispered Eliza as she grabbed Tara by the hips and the both of them kissed. The blonde witch was panting as she started to take off her clothes, parting temporarily to pull the tank-top over her head before kissing each other again. Eliza stopped kissing Tara and let the witch take off her blouse and let it fall to the floor before they kissed each other furiously. She then gently pushed Tara onto the bed and lay her down. Eliza crawled on top of her while Tara whimpered and bit down on her lower lip. "Your power and life-force will live on in me. It will feed me, my dear Tara."

"Yes," Tara hissed as her hands brushed past the straps of Eliza's undergarments, and then onto her bare skin until reaching the top of her skirt, "take me."

Eliza leaned down and kissed Tara deep on the lips. The both of them moaning together. Eliza slowly moved down to Tara's jawline while feeling the witch's hands tightened on her waist. She then whispered into her ear that "the white haired witch was next".

"Yes," Tara hissed as Eliza left a trail of kisses and saliva to the first bruise at the nape of her neck. Eliza smiled before biting down on the bruised area and then started to gently bite down. She closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure as a trickle of Tara's magic and life-force entered her body from the bruise. Tara felt pleasure rippling through her body as she moaned out loud. Tara was running her hands through her own blonde hair as wave after wave of pleasure went through her body while, at the same time, she felt herself getting weaker and weaker.

But it didn't matter to her as Eliza crawled downwards while taking in more of Tara's magical life-force through the bruises she had already made last night. Tara started to push Eliza's head down when she stopped and continued to feed on her life-force from the bruises on her abdomen. The Succubus looked up and smiled as she grabbed the sides of Tara's shorts. The blonde witch raised her hips and Eliza took them off before throwing them on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"Don't stop," Tara said between pants. Her voice was barely audible... but she knew that Eliza heard her because of the wicked smile on Eliza's face after Tara brought her head up and looked down her body. Tara then saw Eliza's eyes glow purple before she lowered her head downwards. Tara screamed in pleasure as she arched her back and drew her head backwards until she was looking at the window behind her. The pleasure going through Tara's body was more intense with each passing second as she screamed at Eliza to not stop what she was doing. "Never stop!" Tara screamed out loud in pleasure again as she grabbed the covers of the bed into her fists and felt her skin tingling. Tara glanced at her arms and saw the skin starting to wrinkle. She closed her eyes again and gave in to the sensations going through her body – more intense than the sensations that very morning when the both of them showered together, and even more intense than their intense 'meeting' the previous night after the club.

Tara opened her eyes and felt her face starting to wrinkle and tighten. Her eyes started to cloud over while she kept on telling Eliza to continue as her life-force was being taken out of her. Just as Tara was about to close her eyes for the final time, she felt Eliza tighten her hold on her hips before she pulled in more of Tara's life-force into her. The exhausted Tara knew she was dying, and she didn't care as she screamed at Eliza… her voice deep and raw, to continue and never stop. Suddenly, the door to the room swung open and the last thing Tara saw was Eliza being flung against a wall.

Willow was the last one into the room and shut the door behind her before saying, "silencio." A field of magical energy surrounded the room, making it soundproof. Willow rushed to the nearly desiccated form of Tara looking back at her and she gasped. She saw Tara move her head towards Eliza as she pushed Faith, who had been viciously punching her, and flung her to the wall on the far side just above the bed. Willow ducked while pulling the covers over the nude Tara as Faith hit the wall, fell on the bed, and then rolled off onto the floor. Willow stared at the impact mark and then turned to Eliza who was staring at her with purple eyes, sharp teeth, and a long tongue that licked the blood that was coming down her cheeks from Faith's punches.

"Faith?" asked Willow as the Slayer grabbed the side of the bed and started to get up to her feet.

"She's a pussy cat," replied Faith as Tara reached out for Eliza with a trembling, wrinkled, and greying hand, "all meow, and no bite."

"You're not as magically proficient as my Tara," said Eliza as she leaped at Faith, "but a snack… what?"

Eliza found herself floating in mid-air just before Faith grabbed her by her throat, and then swung her around with a scream - smashing her into the cupboard doors. The doors crashed in on themselves as Eliza was sent flying through them. She then tried to get up before she gasped and clutched her chest.

"We have a friend who said that the only way to kill a Succubus and to return the life-force she stole was to rip out the heart," said Willow as she looked down at the panting Eliza remembering something that the dizzy Althanea relayed to Anya who was on the phone with Willow.

"How did…. How….?"

"Did we find you?" asked Willow as Faith rushed to Tara and covered her with the blanket and lay next to her to comfort her. Willow looked over her shoulder while mentally holding Eliza down, stared into Tara's sunken and cloudy eyes while she was wordlessly moving her lips and reaching for Eliza. Faith gently pulled Tara's face towards her and watched the witch tear up while continuing to reach for Eliza. Willow then turned back to Eliza who was struggling to move, "location spell. That plus a cloaking spell activated once we reached the hotel. No one saw us coming in… not even the cameras. We followed the screams and then used my T.K to open the door. Then I made the room soundproof and fulfilled Faith's wish to beat the snot out of you before I had my fun."

"I will…" However, Eliza never got to finish what she wanted to say as Willow lifted her arm and aimed it at Eliza's chest.

"Do you feel that?" asked Willow as Faith looked up from Tara at Willow's back. "Do you feel the skin on your chest stretching to either side. How about your rib cage starting to crack open?"

"Red," said Faith as Tara started to pant, "we need her life-force back now."

Eliza looked down at her chest and watched as a thin red line spread down to her abdomen from between her breasts. She then looked up at Willow before releasing a howl of pain as the skin ripped apart, followed by her ribcage coming apart and exposing her organs. Willow smiled at the blood flowing onto the carpet while Eliza begged for her life.

"Her life... Tara's life-force will ensure that I will be young for several decades," said Eliza gasping for breath, "humans will be safe from me killing them. I won't kill anymore and… please. I… I will let you and your…"

Eliza stopped talking after a squelching sound was made after her heart was ripped from her body. Tara screamed for Eliza as she saw her 'lover' fall to one side. Willow mentally lifted the still beating heart of the succubus. And then crushed the heart before mentally rippling it apart. As she was tearing it apart, blue light emanated from the organ and then flowed back into Tara who continued to scream for Eliza. Faith watched as Tara's face regained its colour and youth before the screaming stopped and she closed her eyes. Willow then shred the last remaining portion of the heart before letting the gooey mess fall onto the carpet.

"Hey, T?" said Faith as Tara slowly opened her eyes and looked at Willow, and then turned her head with confusion etched on her face as she stared at a concerned Faith who asked, "you alright?"

"Faith?" asked Tara in a hoarse voice, "where…"

She then coughed before looking at the room, Willow, the blood on the inside of the cupboard, and then at the clothes on the floor as she sat up with Faith's help. It was then that Tara noticed she was covered in a blanket, and that she was completely naked with bruises along her body.

"Where am I?" asked Tara shaking her head, "what are you guys doing here, and…"

"Oh, you know," said a sarcastic Faith, "you didn't want to disturb Buffy, so we came to this hotel room and had a three-way."

"She's kidding," Willow said as Tara turned to her with a red face, "what do you remember?"

"We were at the club last night," said Tara, "I met a girl named Eliza, and I went to her place. I remember kissing her and… and that's it. Now I'm here and… oh God!"

Tara then looked at Willow and said that she was sorry she didn't reveal earlier that she was a lesbian, and that the fact she kissed a girl had just slipped out.

"I found out earlier," Willow nodded her head as Tara looked on surprised. "Oh, and I take it this is Eliza?"

Tara looked on in shock as Willow moved to one side and revealed Eliza's dead body. The blonde witch then asked what happened, leading to Faith telling her that they'll go to the hotel first and then explain everything. Willow then bent down and picked up Tara's clothes, handing them to her before turning around to not only give her some privacy but to whisper a spell as well. Tara put on her shorts and her tank-top as Willow created two illusions similar to the one she created of Nighthawk when she was held hostage by Angelus at Sunnydale High; except this time, one illusion was of Tara and another one was of Eliza.

"Willow?" asked Tara.

"Anya found a cloaking spell that hid us from human and electronic eyes," said Willow, "that's how we got in without being seen. And now, the camera's need to see you and Eliza leaving together."

"You should mess them up a little, red," said Faith, "they did just have fantastic sex… I mean the whole building probably heard them."

"Faith," whispered Tara shaking her head while feeling exhausted, "please… I don't know what happened after that kiss so… please… no joking until I know what exactly happened."

"Sorry, Tara," said Faith rubbing her back before placing an arm around her shoulder.

"Faith's right," said Willow as she created a new image of the both of them slightly dishevelled.

"They look good," Faith nodded her head before explaining to Tara that they needed everyone to see that she and Eliza left together since it was every likely that the cameras saw them arriving together. "It would be suspicious if no one saw you two leave."

"And the body?" asked Tara before she coughed because of her dry throat.

"Anya's looking for a spell that'll create a flame to burn anything organic… including the blood on the carpet," said Willow remembering her Ranger training, "we can't leave any evidence that someone was killed here."

"The bump on the wall from where I hit after she threw me?" asked Faith.

"Tara and Eliza were kinky," said Willow with a smirk while Tara frowned. "Listen, I'll head off first. The cloaking spell is keeping me shrouded for ten more minutes from humans and electronics. And I need to be close to the illusions for my T.K to surround them. Once we're outside, the cameras will catch them as taking separate paths away from each other, and then I'll be back."

"See ya, Red," Faith said as the image of Tara grabbed the door and then turned the door knob. The door opened and the two images walked out with Willow behind them, the white haired young woman closing the door behind her as the hallway cameras only picked up the slightly dishevelled images of Tara and Eliza walking and laughing arm in arm with each other. Willow then turned back to the hotel and walked past the unseeing front desk manager, and up to Tara's room.

"What did I do, Faith?" asked Tara looking at Faith with fear and confusion in her eyes, "what did I do?"

"You'll be alright, T," assured Faith as she hugged Tara who started to tear up, "everything's gonna be alright."

TBC.


	43. Chapter 43

**Outside Eliza's hotel room, Paris, France.**

Once Willow received the spell for a cleansing ritual from Anya, she asked Tara and Faith to leave the room after whispering a spell to cloak them all from the cameras in the hallway. Once they were hidden, they walked out and closed the door... keeping it slightly ajar. Willow then mumbled the spell whole looking at Faith holding onto a shivering Tara. The former redhead gave Tara as small smile as they looked at each other before asking her if he remembered anything now. Shaking her head, Tara said that she still didn't know what happened to her following her night out with Eliza.

"Not doing that again," mumbled Tara looking away from Willow before smelling the scent of roses. Willow and Faith got that smell too, leading the redhead to open the door and look in at the body and blood traces on the carpet, the closet, and even some that had fell on the blanket was gone.

Everything burned away without a trace… the fire had cleansed the entire room before extinguishing itself. Willow then headed into the room and picked up the clothes that Eliza had been wearing in the closet, as well as her blouse which was at the foot of the bed, all of them now having no trace of blood on them. She then closed the door shut, whispered the same spell again to burn away any evidence she may have left behind, and the three of them headed out.

Upon exiting the hotel unseen, they walked in the same direction that Tara's magical image had gone. Willow left Tara and Faith behind so that she could project her telekinesis around the image to simulate a physical presence and responsiveness. The cameras along the route showed the fake Tara walking past them, but it didn't show Willow, Faith, or the real Tara anywhere. Eventually, the fake Tara was seen walking into the hotel with a smile and nod at some of the patrons, the clerks, and even the manager who had walked past her, before getting into an elevator with Willow. Once they reached the room, the fake Tara opened the door thanks to Willow's telekinesis, and then walked in followed by Willow herself. In the room, a bandaged Althanea turned and looked at Tara who vanished once the door was closed, and then at Willow while Anya asked if the blonde was alright.

"She's a few meters behind me," said Willow while Xander walked out of Faith and Buffy's room with a phone glued to his ear. Anya told Willow that Buffy, Jenny and Giles didn't have their phones so Xander had to call the shop and ask for the three of them, and that it was urgent. Willow then nodded her head before turning to Xander, "So, they're on the way?"

Xander nodded his head before putting the phone down as Willow sat next to Althanea and looked on worried at the bandage, and then at Althanea's eyes.

"I'm fine," said the witch, "it was just a little cut. Tara didn't know what she was doing."

"It's rare for a Succubus' victim to be this much in her thrall," said Anya, "I've never seen anything like it. Is she gone? The Succubus I mean."

"She's gone," said Willow as she held Althanea's hand, "everyone saw the Succubus and Tara leave. Eliza would have vanished after a few minutes, but I had to catch up to the fake Tara to project my telekinesis through, and around, it."

"I guess we should enjoy the rest of our visit here, huh?" said Althanea as she held tight to Willow's hand.

"Depends," said Willow looking at Anya, "any luck in changing our travel plans?"

"They don't have a flight available," said Anya before Xander said he called using the phone in Faith's room. "Xander told them that Althanea wasn't feeling sick because she fell, and she wanted to see her doctor in Sunnydale."

"All the lady could say was that all flights were over-booked," said Xander before waving his hands and sarcastically mocking the woman's voice, "but she did recommend their fantastic health-care system in Paris."

"Then we take Althanea to the hospital," said Willow. She saw that her mentor was about to interfere, but Willow beat her saying that, "look, the fire burned out all traces of DNA and the body itself, and the clerks and managers, and porters in the hotel saw Eliza leave with Tara. She has a rock-solid alibi, especially since the camera's in the city caught her walking through the route back to the hotel. And since we already mentioned that Althanea was injured… we can say that she fell and hit the side of her head… we need to keep up appearances in case investigators ask any questions."

"You think that the police would come after Tara?" asked Xander.

"Do Succubae have families, Anya?" asked Willow before she looked at Xander and said that she wasn't sure.

"I don't think so," Anya replied, "but then again, this Eliza's a special Succubus since she seems to have such a strong thrall on Tara."

"Let's assume she doesn't, but she does work," said Willow, "then someone would report her missing. Then again, with the fake Tara being caught in their sights walking away alone, then they may let it go. Maybe leave it as an unsolved mystery."

The spell would later wear off after Faith and Tara entered the hotel room. The real Tara then rushed to the injured Althanea while Willow put the succubus' clothes away in her own bag. She frowned that it wasn't organic and so burned away, but reminded herself that she needed to burn the clothes in living flame once they returned home.

After putting the clothes into her bag, Willow turned around at the sound of Althanea's voice telling Tara that what happened wasn't her fault. The former redhead stared at Tara and then at the bruises on her shoulders and neck, along with the bruises she glimpsed when her body was nearly desiccated thanks to Eliza stealing her magic and life-force several minutes ago. Willow was brought out of her thoughts when Xander walked up to her and pointed out some of the blood stains on her shirt.

Willow looked down and sighed before telling him that she was going to change into something else. Everyone, including Tara, looked at Willow… the light blonde witch getting off the bed and gently holding her arm, "thanks, Willow."

Tara stared at Willow, and then at Faith. She alternated between the two of them while saying thanks. Letting go of Willow's arm, Tara wanted to place a kiss on her cheek… but was afraid that Willow would take it the wrong way since she now knew the truth about her. Willow then patted Tara on her shoulder and said that she was glad Tara was safe. The former redhead then nodded her head and turned to take out some new clothes before heading into the washroom, closing the door behind her. Tara then went on to hug Faith tightly, whispering a thanks to her as well when they caught the smell of roses.

"It's the spell," said Anya shrugging her shoulders as everyone looked at the washroom door, "using it to burn away organic material."

A few minutes later, Willow walked out of the washroom in a pair of jeans and a turtle-necked long sleeved blouse. She told the others that her shirt and jeans were burned away, leaving just the metallic fasteners behind.

"Okay," said Willow as she put the buttons into her pocket, "Faith, could you check for the nearest hospital?"

Faith looked on confused at Willow hen she heard the request. It was Althanea who then explained Willow's plan, and the Slayer then finally nodded her head before heading to her room to check the computer. In the meantime, Willow said that it would be better it they left immediately…. At least to show the camera's that they were concerned about Althanea's injury.

"And if they ask why it took so long for me to leave?" asked Althanea, "I mean, I'm sure that they'll be performing an extensive investigation on Eliza's disappearance."

"You're really stubborn," said Anya smirking at Althanea just as they heard Buffy's voice in the room next door. Footsteps then were heard through the room next door before a door shut, and then the same footsteps headed into Willow and Tara's room. Buffy walked in first and hugged Tara while Jenny rushed to Althanea and asked if she was alright, and what happened. As for Giles, he patted Faith on her shoulder while smiling at Willow.

"Guys," said Willow, "we really need to go."

"Go where?" asked Buffy as she sat down next to Althanea after asking if she was feeling alright. Anya, Xander, and Willow then explained the plan… and added that it was something they needed to do to throw off suspicion against Tara. While everyone prepared to leave, including Tara in the very same clothes she was wearing, Willow thought about all the questions that the police could ask Tara and the others. She used her, specifically Niko's, experience and training as a Ranger to think of several possible questions that police could ask.

Once Faith found a hospital nearby, the group prepared to leave. With Jenny holding on to the injured Althanea as they walked out the room, Willow and Tara were the last to leave and closed the door behind them. The two young women pulled back away from the rest of the group, and walked at a hurried pace. They wanted to show for the camera's that they ere in a hurry in case the video was checked. In the meantime, Willow already had a few questions she believed the police would ask; something that she would brief Tara on once they reached the hospital.

After a five-minute ride to the hospital in two cabs, a short wait in the emergency room and admission, and then followed by a CT Scan of Althanea's head at hearing how she got her injury, the group stood at the foot of the witch's hospital bad as the doctor explained that her scans were clear.

"But we'd still like to keep you in observation for twenty-four hours," said the French doctor, "and then we'll perform some cognitive tests before we can let you go."

"We're supposed to be flying back to the States the day after tomorrow," Althanea said.

"If everything's normal, you can leave tomorrow," said the doctor as Willow and the others looked on, "but I'd suggest against flying so soon."

"We all have work, Doctor," said Althanea before Iles could speak up."

"You may have some slight headaches, or sensitivity to light." The doctor explained more of the symptoms that could develop tomorrow, but Althanea was insistent although Jenny and the others were sure that they could stay in Paris for a few more days.

"Or I could stay with Althanea," said Willow, "my Freshman semester doesn't start until August, in three months, so I'll stay here with her. Once she's recovered enough, then we'll head back to Sunnydale."

"Althanea?" asked Giles, "sounds like a good compromise."

"I'll have to contact the head nurse at the hospital in Sunnydale, and take a few more days off," said Althanea referring to the woman who was in charge of all nurses in Sunnydale General, where Althanea was working, as Tara glanced at Willow with a small smile on her face. A smile that vanished when the doctor said that Willow was doing a good thing. The blonde watched the former redhead chuckle while brushing her hair behind her ear.

"So, let's hope you two get to stay here a bit longer," said the doctor smiling at Willow before turning to Althanea who was lying on the bed, "I'm sure the airline can assist you in rebooking. IN the meantime, I suggest you get a lot of rest. The nurses will check-in with you every hour… and if you have any problems, then just press the button on your left and call the nurses station." The doctor pointed at the oval shaped device next to Althanea's hand, and then looked at Willow and asked her to call him if they needed anything.

Willow nodded her head before the doctor brushed past her while Tara looked away at Buffy and Faith who frowned. Jenny, Xander, Anya, and Giles then approached the bed on either side and said that they'll call the airline, explain the situation, and then try to have all of their flights changed.

"Tara needs to get out of here," Althanea whispered at Giles, "and it's better if we leave when we're supposed to leave. And… and don't call the airline."

"But you said…" whispered Willow.

"Doctors will say things like that, Willow," explained Althanea, "I don't have a headache, I'm not hearing or seeing things… other than what I regularly see anyway, and I'm feeling fine. I know the symptoms of a concussion. They did a complete check-up on me and found no bleeding in my brain."

"But.."

"I'm feeling fine," reassured Althanea as she stared at Giles, "I'll feel much better once I'm home, and I'll have a check-up every for the next few months in Sunnydale. In the meantime, we should stay safe. Eliza must have been a really powerful Succubus to keep Tara in that kind of a thrall. A death of any being that powerful would draw others to examine the death, and maybe even hunt down the killer."

"But they won't go out of the city," said Anya as she looked at Tara, "once we're out of here, you'll be safe. But Althanea's right, if they knew the location of the Succubus' home, then they could catch Tara's scent."

"Faith and I will stay with Tara back in the hotel room," Buffy said softly. Tara glanced at Willow, mentally hoping that she'd stay too. However, she knew that the doctor seemed interested in the former redhead… and Willow seemed receptive thanks to her action in brushing her hair behind her ears.

'Stop thinking about that, Tara,' thought the witch to herself, 'it was simply Willow brushing her hair away since it covered her eye. It was just that, not a sign telling the doctor to ask her out or something. And besides, she's not ready yet to go out. That's what she said before we left for Paris.'

"Maybe Willow should stay with us too," said Faith as Tara was brought out of her thoughts and turned her head towards the dark-haired Slayer. One part wanted to hug Faith tight for saying what she herself wanted to say, but another part of Tara was terrified that Willow would say no.

"Yea, sure," Willow said as a smile appeared on Tara's face as she glanced at Willow, and then at Faith who winked at the witch. Jenny and Giles voted to stay with Althanea; which they did a few hours later when everyone left for the hotel. In the hours before they left, Willow briefed everyone on the questions that the police could ask them. Once everyone was on t eh same level, Willow, Tara, Faith, Xander, and Anya left and returned to the hotel while the adults remained in the hospital.

 **Two days later, international airspace.**

It would be two days later that Tara found herself thirty five thousand feet in the air seated next to Faith, and Buffy on the aisle seat in the airplane. She looked down one row at the back of Willow's head as she leaned back into her seat with Althanea and Jenny next to her. It left only an unhappy Giles sitting next to Xander and Anya who were constantly kissing each other.

Tara wasn't sure why no one questioned her about the missing Eliza, however Willow believed that the police were still trying to piece together the whereabouts of the succubus. She told Tara to not worry about anything, that she could have died if nothing was done to stop Eliza.

And all the young witch could do was nod her head in agreement. By the time they left the rooms for the airport, there were still no sign of the police. Even when the group entered the plane, when it took off, and once it entered international air space; there was no news. Tara's heart was beating hard the entire time- and that entire time she recalled Willow, Buffy, and Faith reassuring her. As did the others.

As she looked at Willow's arm, she also remembered the game of Truth or Dare they played the night Althanea was admitted to hospital. The group, including Xander who was invited into the girl night, sat on the carpet in a circle with a bottle in the middle. Wherever the bottle stopped, the person had the option of asking anyone in the circle to choose between a 'truth' or a 'dare'.

"Truth," said Willow after the bottle landed on Faith after several minutes of 'dares'. The slayer selected Willow who then sighed before saying she'd answer any question honestly.

"If you had a chance to date someone again," Faith began as Tara opened her eyes wide at the Slayer who avoided looking back at her, "would you date a guy? Or a girl?"

"Ummm…" said Willow as she thought about it while the others, including Xander, looked at the former redhead expectedly. IN the meantime, Tara was glaring at Faith while Buffy nudged the witch's arm with her elbow and winked. The two Slayers held back their laughter at the redness in Tara's cheeks when Willow said that she didn't know.

"That's not an answer," chuckled Buffy.

"That is so an answer," added Tara.

"Come on, Will," said Xander, "I'm sure that Oz wouldn't want you to be alone and…"

"Oh, how about that handsome doctor?" asked Anya as Willow arched an eyebrow.

"He wasn't that handsome," retorted Xander as he nudged Anya's arm.

"Anyway," said Willow chuckling as she waved her arms, "what I mean is that… well, I want to find the right person. Oz and I? We fit perfectly. If I can find someone like him, who could be a 'her' as well, then maybe. Of course, if it's a 'her' then there's all this stuff I'll need to learn from her and…"

At this moment Tara started to caugh nervously as she looked away from the others while imagining laying Willow on the floor and kissing her.

"Hey, Tara," said Faith with a grin as they looked at each other, "you ok?"

"I'm okay," she replied with a squeak in her voice, "lets spin the bottle."

And they did. Tara remembered the fun they had for the rest of the night, ending in charades before heading off to their own rooms for bed. The next day, Tara's mind was distracted while they looked in on Althanea while Jenny and the others head back to their rooms to freshen up and change. It would be later that night Althanea was released since she didn't seem to have any problems from her 'fall'. The group wanted to spend the last night in Paris enjoying themselves before heading back to Sunnydale the next afternoon.

And here they were on the plane as Tara continued looking at Willow's arm. She remembered the guys the young woman danced with the previous night when they went clubbing, and her heart ached. Tara already had a bad experience with a one night stand, and she didn't want any more risks. As she looked at Willow swaying her hips while Althanea was sitting next to her, the only thought going through her mind was that she wanted to ask Willow out.

She wanted to ask the redhead for several hours even before leaving. But at that time, she was also worried about any potential questions from detectives… questions that never came her way. Tara looked up at the unlit seatbelt sign and then unbuckled herself. Buffy and Faith then turned to Tara as she got up off her seat and asked if everything was alright.

"Yeah," Tara said before she took a few steps towards Willow's seat. Buffy and Faith then looked at each other before chuckling. The both of them hoped that whatever Tara asked Willow, the latter would say yes.

"Will," Tara said while tapping on the shoulder of the young woman watching a movie on the screen in front of her. Willow then looked up surprised, and then smiled, while taking off the headphones. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Could we talk?"

"Here?" asked the former redhead.

"It.. it can't wait," Tara whispered. Tara glanced over at Althanea who was also watching the same movie before looking back at the green eyes looking back at her. "Just to the back of the plane where it's pretty quiet. Please?"

"Sure," said Willow who believed that Tara was still worried about the French police wanting to speak to her about Eliza. At least if they managed to find any taped records of Tara and Eliza… based on the police not showing up, she wondered if the camera's they passed even worked at all. Willow undid her seatbelt, which was when Althanea noticed that Willow was getting up of her seat. And it was then she also noticed Tara who looked back at her, and then at Willow before the both of them walked off.

Althanea then turned and looked through the gap in the seats at Buffy who gave her a 'thumbs up sign' after Tara and Willow passed them by. Althanea smiled and then turned to watch her movie. She was aware for some time that Tara was attracted to Willow… she could sense it and see it in her aura. And all she could do now was whisper, "don't be afraid, Willow."

It was a few minutes later that both Tara and Willow made it to the back of the plane. They looked out the window on the exit, and then at the empty galley since the flight attendants were making their rounds.

"Willow," said Tara nervously as they looked at each other, "I… ummm…. There's something I wanted to say and… I mean… look, you.."

"Tara?" asked Willow at the nervous Tara who was pacing before she looked around to make sure they were alone. She then turned back towards Willow and said that she was keeping something in for months, and that if she didn't let it out.. she was afraid that she'll regret it.

"And I do regret it because if I told you this earlier, then maybe the whole fiasco with… you know who… wouldn't have happened," said Tara as she ran a hand through her hair while she looked at the passing white clouds below though the glass viewport on the door. "I take responsibility for what happened with her and… I mean that's on me. Not you, not Buffy, and not Faith, and…"

"You're not making any sense," said Willow as she took a few steps forward and placed her hands on Tara's arms. Willow whispered that it wasn't her fault.

"I… that.. that night we went to the club," said Tara, "I.. I know you weren't there and… I mean I wish you were there, and… I mean I know you were on your own date with Oz. What I'm trying to say is…"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't there," said Willow gently as she looked into Tara's eyes.

"You.. You don't understand," whispered Tara before shaking her head. "I.. I think… never mind. I think we should go back and…"

"Tara," said Willow gently, but sternly, as Tara tried to turn around but Willow stopped her, "what's going on? We already discussed this back in the hotel after… you know… after what happened. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault."

"It's my fault," said Tara as tears started to gather in her eyes while Willow narrowed her own in confusion as she looked at the young witch, "I… that.. I mean that night I wanted to dance with someone I was attracted to and… and Buffy and Faith were dancing with people and enjoying themselves and all I could think about was this one person."

"Tara?" asked Willow as Tara looked back into her eyes.

"I wanted her there.. I wanted to ask her to dance and… and… I mean it's Paris you know? It hurt a bit and I went home with the first girl who showed me attention. But all I could think about while we were… you know… was what you'd say when you found out."

"It's not your fault, Tara," Willow whispered as her heart raced in the hope that Tara wasn't saying what the former redhead though she was saying.

"I… I know I made a mistake and…"

"You didn't make a mistake," said Willow.

"If I wasn't so distracted, then maybe I'd have sensed there was something wrong about her," said Tara, "so I put myself into that situation. And… and I don't want to put myself into that kind of a situation ever again. I.. I don't want to be distracted."

"Okay," Willow said.

"I… I can't replace Oz," said Tara as Willow closed her eyes and shook her head. Tara sensed disbelief coming from Willow as she opened her eyes and looked into hers again, but Tara pushed on. Even though her heart was racing uncontrollably, and her neck, and ears were getting warmer while her palms were sweating. But she continued, "and… and I don't want to. I… I've been attracted to you for a long time. And… and this incident's made me realize that… that if I don't tell you, then I'll regret it."

"Ta…"

"I almost died, Willow," she whispered as a tear slipped down her cheek, "I… I can't let that happen again without telling you the truth. I'm attracted to you. I… I have been since that the day you came back from Devon. Maybe it started the day I first saw you and…"

"Or maybe it was because you saw me naked?" asked Willow as Tara chuckled while wiping her eyes. However, she noticed that Willow never let go of her arms even though disbelief was emanating off her body.

Tara looked at the smile on Willow's face, a smile that slowly vanished when the seriousness of what they were talking about came into focus again. The smile on Tara's face vanished too as she continued to speak, "I… I was hoping that maybe we could go for some coffee at the Espresso Pump. Just you and me… a.. a date."

"A date?" said Willow looking into Tara's eyes.

"A date," Tara nodded her head while her heart raced hoping that Willow would say 'yes'.

"And what happens if we hit it off?" asked Willow who was showing no outward sign of nervousness. However, Tara could see the heavy nervousness in her aura.

"I… I can show you… I mean… I can help to… you know," said Tara nervously before shaking her head and then taking a deep breath, "I… I can teach you. I… I think we… we could give it a try."

"Let's start with a coffee then," said Willow as a smiled came on Tara's face. A smile that was reflected on Willow's face as well.

"It's a date," smiled Tara as her hearth slowed down. She wanted to kiss Willow, but thought against it. Instead, she resolved to take things between them slowly. Willow then placed a hand on her back, and the both of them walked back to their seats. Tara sat back down while looking at Willow, who sat back down on her seat. The two smiled at each other as Buffy got up off her seat, moved past a surprised Tara and into the aisle. She then strode towards Willow and asked here only one question while Althanea looked up at the two young women.

"Did you say yes?" asked Buffy.

"Yea," replied Willow.

"Alright," said Buffy nodding towards the seat next to Tara, "you're sitting on my seat. Go.. go…"

"Buffy," said both Tara and Willow together.

"Move, Will," whispered a smiling Slayer. Willow chuckled and got up, and then walked down the aisle while brushing her hair behind her own ear. She smiled at Tara, who smiled back at her as she sat down. The both of them looked at each other, and Willow looked past Tara at the grinning Faith who was watching a movie on the screen. Willow then sat back as a flight attendant came up to them, and asked one simple question.

"Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee," Tara and Willow said together.

TBC.


	44. Chapter 44

**The Rosenberg Residence, 2200 hours.**

Willow closed the door to her home behind her after turning on the foyer light. It shone white, lighting up the small space as she put her bag down on the floor and then keys into the bowl to her left. She the sighed at the thought of the empty house, a place she didn't want to let go off before she picked up the bag once again and walked up the stairs. She then walked to her room and took off her clothes before heading for a shower. Once she closed the shower door behind her, Willow turned on the tap and took a step forward underneath the warm water. Closing her eyes, she thought back to the plane ride where she and Tara were drinking coffee together. Nothing much had come out of it, the both of them had a few things to say over coffee… but Willow could tell from Tara's nervousness… and her own, that they weren't ready to talk about something like a potential relationship on a plane.

And Willow didn't know if she was ready to move on. In truth, she didn't know if she could date another woman. Which was why she asked Tara if she wanted to get some coffee at the Espresso Pump the next night; the former redhead needed to know if they were a match… and if they weren't, then she would know that she and Tara weren't a good fit. Willow then turned off the shower head and opened the screen door. She stepped out while wrapping a towel around her scarred body and then walked out the washroom and into the hallway.

Getting back into her room, Willow, while her hair was still damp, walked to her closet and opened the doors. She looked at her hanging clothes, all of which was new due to the young woman throwing out everything she ever owned due to the fact that Angelus had touched them. Instead of reaching for the clothes, she looked down and mumbled one word, "Reveal."

A foot locker uncloaked itself and then Willow crouched down to open the top, revealing her new Nighthawk uniform. The young woman then got up and dried herself off before she put on the matte black cat-suit, boots, gloves, belt with pepper spray and the batons, and finally the two sheathed combat knives that were attached to her thighs. The young woman then put on her balaclava and her goggles before taking off after having turned off the lights to her room and pulled away the curtains.

Her first mission as she flew through the air using her telekinesis was to check on the remains of Drusilla. A few minutes later, the young woman walked down the stairs to the lower level of what used to be Spike's crypt to the smell of burning flesh. Willow smiled under her balaclava at the absence of any screams from Dru, and wondered if the crazy vampire had gotten used to the pin.. or if she had turned to ash. Walking into Spike's bedroom, where his ashes were still piled on the bed, Willow smiled at the smoking pile of ash in the room over the are where Drusilla was trapped.

'Oz had been avenged,' though Willow to herself before turning around and walking back down the hallway towards the stairs that led to the main floor. She then closed the door behind her after exiting the crypt. She flew off into the air with her heart beating steadily as the wind brushed past her while she flew, the black uniform making any sighting of her much less likely.

She knew that Buffy, Riley, Faith, and Graham would be going on patrol later, so Willow headed instead for the city itself where she eventually managed to dust a vampire who was trying to bite down on a human. From there she floated around for a little while before heading to the Bronze where she knew that there would be more potential vampire attacks.

While searching for anything to take up her time, Willow thought back to Oz and Tara. She imagined a talk with Oz as she flew towards the graveyard using her magic instead of her telekinesis to give her brain a brief respite.

"What do I do?" asked Willow as she imagined herself next to Oz while sitting on a beach under a full moon with stars twinkling in the sky.

"About?" asked Oz as he lay down next to her. The both of them were lying down on their back side by side while looking up at the stars.

"About Tara," said Willow gently, "what if we hit it off? What if she asks me out again? What if…"

"There are a lot of 'what ifs'" said Oz.

"I know there are a lot of what if's," replied Willow as she looked up at the stars, "but…"

"And I'm dead," 'Oz' reminded her. Willow looked at him, and studied his face, before looking back up at the stars once again, "you're alive, and I'm dead Will. You already said goodbye.. we already went out to Paris for our anniversary. And… and we did what we wanted to do."

"I wanted more," whispered Willow.

"You have the chance for that," Oz said as Willow looked at him, "you can find another guy, or you can date Tara. See how it goes."

"What if I hit it off with Tara?" asked Willow softly.

"Then you hit it off," answered 'Oz', "then you hot it off. You'll have someone to share your burdens. And… and not here to share your burdens, I mean I can't share your burdens because I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"You're right," whispered Willow as she looked at Oz who looked back at her, "but I'm still glad you're here. You do know you'll always be here."

"I know," was the reply.

"Then we'll see what happens over coffee," said Willow smiling at Oz, "we'll see."

"We'll see," Oz returned the smile as Willow found herself flying through the warm night air over one of the many graveyards in Sunnydale. Willow shifted her body to the left, just before she banked left and wondered what it would be like the next day. And the day after tomorrow, and then the day after that, and so on.

'One day at a time then,' thought Willow to herself before coming across two men walking by themselves in a graveyard. Figuring that Buffy was a another graveyard, Willow landed in front of the surprised men and smirked under the balaclava.

"Is this Halloween?" asked one of the men who looked as if he had just dug himself out of his coffin. He then switched to his 'vamp' face before snarling at Willow who took out her batons, flicked her wrists, and extended them.

"Hello sweeties," said Willow just before the two vamps leapt towards her.

 **Tara's Room, Stevenson Hall, 1300 hours.**

Tara was standing in front of her mirror wearing the latest combination of clothes while Buffy was seated on her bed with Anya by her side. The Slayer was looking at the pile of clothes on the bed before looking back up at Tara who was getting frustrated at being unable to find the right combination for the upcoming coffee 'not a date' with Willow. Buffy chuckled as Tara screamed in frustration as she took off her shirt and threw in on the floor before standing with her hands on her hips facing Faith who was drinking a can of pop.

"You know," Buffy said before she placed the can on Tara's bedside table next on the phone. The then motioned to the young with which wiping her lips with the back of her hand before continuing, "you could always meet her in just your underwear."

"Buffy!" exclaimed Tara before looking down at the pile of clothes on the bed, and then turning around with her back to the Slayer and sitting on the bed. Buffy looked at the young woman's back and was glad that the bites that Eliza had made was slowly vanishing. Buffy sighed, and then shimmied to where Tara was sitting and, from behind, she lay her chin on Tara's left shoulder, just next to the bra strap, and whispered.

"You said that this isn't a date," said Buffy gently as Tara looked down while Tara was fiddling with her fingers. "Maybe you just take it easy, Tara."

"I know its not a date," whispered Tara as she lay the side of her head on Buffy's temple, "but… I mean I think she's the one I want to spend every day with. And…"

"You don't know if she's the one, Tar," said Buffy gently as Tara sighed, "maybe she could be? Maybe she's not. I mean I want the both of you to work out. But one thing that's a definite fact when you two go out is that…."

"At least I'll know," Tara said finishing the Slayer's sentence. She then continued to whiser if the Slayer and Willow were going to be okay.

"It won't be the same," Buffy said softly as she pulled back and Tara turned her body to look at the blonde, "I know she's still angry at me; all the smiles and jokes from her won't take that away."

"But…"

"And yes, it's my fault." Buffy then shook her head before saying that she was fine with where the two friends were right now. "She's talking to me, she's joking with me, we hug… we laugh... that's the best thing that I could have asked after she came back to us. But that doesn't change the fact that she flinches when we hug… she may think that I don't realize it, but I do. I know she sometimes looked at me with angry-eyes when she thinks I'm not looking, and.. and I know there's a part of her that wants to hurt me real bad. She's not the Willow I knew before, and I'm getting to know this new version of her. All in all though? I think we're okay."

"I'm glad the both of you are okay," said Tara smiling at Buffy before looking at the picture on top of her shelf which had herself, Buffy, and Faith laughing together in costume during Halloween. Tara looked at that picture, and then turned back to Buffy before saying that she liked Willow. "I really do."

"Then enjoy going out with her," said Buffy as she leaned forward and held onto Tara's hand. "If anything happens, it happens."

"I'm attracted to her, Buffy," said the young witch while the Slayer hopped off the bed and looked through the closet. She then looked back at Tara, and back at the closet again before pulling out some clothes and setting them down on the bed… on the pile of other clothes.

"Wear that," said Buffy pointed at the black off shoulder dress while Tara before Tara reminded her that they were just going for coffee at the Espresso pump, and so she needed something casual. But Buffy waved her hands and shook her head 'no'. Instead, she told Tara to 'jump into the deep end' while she rushed to t eh phone and called Xander. While she was dialling the phone, Buffy told Tara to try on the dress.

"Buffy!" exclaimed a nervous Tara as she stood up and looked at the dress, "I can't wear the dress."

"And why? Oh, hold on.." said Buffy as she turned her focus to Xander who had just picked up the phone in his apartment. "Hey Xand, listen. Can anyone use the roof access in your building to… well… go to the roof?"

"Yea," he replied while he was seated next to Anya watching television, "why?"

"Can you rent a tux?" asked Buffy as Tara put her hands on her hips and looked on perplexed at the Slayer.

"A tux?" asked Xander leaning forward while Anya turned her head to stare at him confused.

"Yea," Buffy said nodding her head while looking at Tara, and imagining her in the dress, "Tara's changed her mind, and she wants to ask Willow to dinner."

"Buffy?!" mouthed Tara silently.

"Dinner?" asked Xander, "isn't that a bit too fast? And…."

"Jump into the deep end, Xander," said Buffy, "she likes Will and… well, better to make it a date instead of 'it's not a date-date'."

"I guess I could get a tux," said Xander.

"Faith's in class, mom's at work, Graham and Riley are on some mission in South America, and Giles is working," said Buffy, "so we're gonna make this a great night for these two."

"Buffy," Tara shook her head.

"Yea," said Buffy nodding her head at Xander saying something over the phone in regards to what they were going to do next. "Well, I have a plan."

 **The Rosenberg Residence, ten minutes later.**

Willow had just gotten out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her scarred body, when the phone in the living room rang. Walking out of the shower, and then onto the carpet before rushing down the stairs carefully, Willow strode into the living room and picked up the phone.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi… hi, Willow?" asked a nervous Tara on the other line as Buffy was putting the dress on a hanger, and then carefully packing some makeup, and several; other items into a bag.

"Hey, Tara," said Willow as she stood with water dripping from her lower legs and onto the carpet she was standing on, "I'm gonna be ready in a few minutes. I'll be at the Espresso Pump in an…"

"Would you like to have dinner with me instead of coffee and maybe have dinner as in a date not as is not having a date - date but a real date where it's just you and me and some dinner and food and dinner and…."

"Food?" asked Willow as she listened to Tara rambling on nervously while picking out a stifled laugh in the background.

"Would you like to have dinner instead of coffee? Or we could have coffee with dinner?" asked Tara after calming down and then taking in a deep breath while as she waved at Buffy to quieten down. "Or we could just have the coffee at the Espresso Pump in an hour. I'm alright with that too."

"Ye…. Yea," said a surprised Willow shaking her head, "I mean… you mean a date?"

"I… I didn't mean….. no never mind. So, coffee in an hour?"

"Tara," said Willow as she stood with water from her still wet hair dripping onto the carpet, "it was just a surprise for me. Look, if you want to have dinner then it's fine with me. I can take my parents car and pick you up, or…."

"Xander's going to pick you up," said Tara while Willow tilted her head.

"Xander?" asked Willow, "so Xander's joining us? I mean if you're comfortable going as a group with Anya, Buffy…. Who I'm guessing is right there, and Faith then I'm totally fine with that."

"A group?" asked Tara as she looked at Buffy who shook her head.

"No… just you and me," continued Tara, returning her focus to Willow, while Buffy wrote out something on a piece of paper and then handed it to Tara. The witch looked at the scribble in the paper, and then at Buffy who was nodding her head excitedly, "she's going to be having dinner with her mom, and Faith."

"Okay?" said a confused Willow, "then why's Xander's picking me up?"

"I mean Xander's picking you up because…"

"Oh for God's sake," said Buffy as she reached out with her hand and asked for the phone. Sheepishly, a flustered Tara handed the receiver to the Slayer who then placed it on her ear. "Hey Will?"

"Buffy?" asked Willow, "what's going on? Why's Xander…"

"It's a surprise," said Buffy while she was pacing the carpet and hoping that Willow didn't back out, "listen Will, it's a surprise. Just get ready for dinner, Xander will pick you up at eight."

"Okay?" said Willow confused, "so… casual or formal? Or…"

"Just wear something nice. Make it formal… but not too formal," said Buffy as she looked at the off-shoulder dress that Tara was holding up which had an embroidery on the chest. "Xander will pick you up at eight."

"Alright," said Willow, "eight then."

 **Tara's Room, Stevenson Hall.**

Buffy then punched the air before handing the phone back to Tara who then told Willow that she was looking forward to seeing her then. The witch then put the phone down, and stared at a grinning Buffy who approached her and said, "you'll be fine, Tara. You'll see, she'll love you."

"I don't know about that," said Tara as she flopped on her bed and looked at the dress before turning back to Buffy, "at least I get to wear a nice dress."

"Did you ever wear this?" asked Buffy as she picked it up by the hanger while Tara put on a simple shirt and then picked up the bag that Buffy packed.

"It was supposed to be for my senior prom," said Tara with a faraway look in her eyes while Buffy looked back at her after admiring the dress.

"Supposed to be?" asked Buffy confused, "what do you mean supposed to be?"

Tara told Buffy that she bought the dress after her best friend asked her to the prom. Tara explained that the young man didn't know that she was attracted to another girl, and she hadn't told anyone. Tara knew how everyone would take it, so she said yes to the young man. She then explained to Buffy that her father and brother found out that she was going out for the senior prom, and they stopped her.

"You don't talk about your parents much," Buffy said, "and I didn't even know you had a brother."

"They didn't want me to go to prom," said Tara as she opened her door and walked out into the hallway with the bag while Buffy carried her dress. She couldn't tell her about the verbal and emotional abuse she suffered from her father and brother, or that her magic came from a demon. She wanted to enjoy her life with Buffy and her friends... and she wanted someone to love before she would have to give in to her demon half. Tara walked the hallway with Buffy and knew that she would have to kill her when her demon half emerged in a year's time… until then, Tara wanted to enjoy her life. "My dad was injured in an accident and my brother couldn't take care of him alone. So I have to stay in.. I mean it was too bad, but… you know… it was my dad."

"How about we make this night one to remember for the rest of your life." Buffy said as she held Tara's hand. "And whatever happens, happens."

"I agree," nodded Tara as she looked at Buffy, and then at the dress in her hand while imagining she was dancing with Willow. "Whatever happens, happens."

TBC.


	45. Chapter 45

**The Rosenberg Residence, 1330 hours.**

Willow was a bit confused about what just happened as she stood in the living room wrapped up in her towel with the phone in her hand. She put the phone back down and then sighed before heading back up to her room. She looked through her closet and wore some jeans and a simple long sleeved shirt. She then looked at the clothes she had in her closet and wondered if there was anything there can could be used as 'semi-formal'. Willow knew her mother had some clothes that fit the bill, but all that was donated to charity. She exited her room, and then walked to the closed door behind which lay Ira and Sheila's room.

Willow reached for the door knob, and then opened the door slowly. She gazed at how the room remained ever since they died. The only things gone were the clothes, which Willow felt would be better being given to charity. Everything else remained just as it was that fateful day with the home itself being unoccupied until Willow returned from Devon. The former redhead then closed the door and walked towards the top of the stairs. She walked down the stairs, and then went back to the living room and picked up the phone.

While Willow was looking at the clock on the mantle, next to the pictures of all three of them together that were retrieved from her parent's safe deposit box, she figured there was enough time to kill to talk to an old friend. Willow looked back at the phone, picked up the receiver and dialled a number.

"Hey," said Willow on the phone once the person on the other line picked up, "are you still shooting in Santa Barbara?"

"Hey, how was Paris?" asked Cordelia ignoring Willow's question as she sat in front of a mirror while an assistant was applying make-up on her cheeks for her next scene. The young woman had told Willow that she was going to be shooting for her soap opera in Santa Barbara, an hour away from Sunnydale. Cordelia told Willow that once the latter returned from Paris, they should get together and hang out.

"Paris was interesting," Willow answered. She just told the young woman that they had an interesting time without being specific on what happened to Tara. Willow then leaned against the wall before asking Cordelia if she could meet-up with her in Santa Barbara. "that is if you're done shooting for the day."

"I'll be done in two hours," Cordelia said, "come on over and we could hang out, and then dinner."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something," said Willow as she focused at a single spot on the carpet beneath her feet, "and I… well… I already have plans for dinner tonight and…"

"That's fine, we can grab a snack or something, and then…"

"Cordy," Willow interrupted the dark-haired young woman, "it's a date with someone, and… well…"

"Who is it with?" asked Cordelia, her eyebrow arching upwards, as her assistant nodded her head at Cordelia before whispering that she was ready, and that her scene was due to begin in ten minutes. Cordelia waved her assistant away while her phone was glued to her ear. Cordelia then got up off the chair and walked towards the set, her assistant a few steps behind, while talking to Willow. She was eager to know about the man who asked Willow out. Cordelia knew that Willow, a person who she once enjoyed making miserable in Middle and High School and turned to one of her friends, was devastated after the loss of Oz. And the fact Willow was talking about dating again, especially after everything that happened following Oz's death, and the deaths of Sheila and Ira, brought a smile to Cordelia's face as she waited for an answer.

"Tara."

"Whoa," Cordelia said as she stopped walking, her face in surprise as she turned her head away from everyone and covered her mouth with her hand while asking Willow to repeat what she just said.

"It's Tara," Willow repeated on the phone after listen to Cordelia's muffled voice. The young woman just focused on the same spot on the carpet as she heard Cordelia say 'whoa' once again. "Yep. Cordy, she said she's attracted to me and…."

"How do you feel about that?" asked Cordelia softly while she signalled at her assistant to go on ahead. Cordelia watched her assistant head for the nearby set before focusing on Willow's call again, "Willow? How do you feel about going out with her?"

"I mean I'm flattered she likes me," Willow ran her hand through her hair while closing her eyes, "and now we have a dinner thing together and… and I don't know how to act, or what to do. I mean I can't ask Buffy about this, I'm not that close with Faith or Anya to discuss my love life… at least not yet. And… and I don't want to bring Joyce, Jenny, or Althanea into this. Can I come by and talk? I mean I'm sure you know a lot of people who…"

"Drive on different lanes?" Cordelia arched an eyebrow while walking past some of the crew.

"Yea."

"I was actually hit on by quite a few ladies actually," Cordelia said proudly as she heard the director calling out for her. Cordelia told him that she needed one more minute before refocusing on Willow once again. "Willow, just come by. I'm heading for the shoot now, so I'll have my assistant test you with the address of the hotel where they've got me and the other actors staying for the rest of the time here. I should be back in two hours."

"No cell phone, Cordy," Willow shook her head while smile developed on her face.

"Well, get one then," Cordy shot back in a gentle voice before asking the white-haired young woman to write down the address. Cordelia gave Willow the address of the hotel and her room number, which the latter wrote down while her towel absorbed the water on her body.

"I'll leave in an hour then," Willow nodded putting the pen and paper down, "it takes an hour to get to Santa Barbara anyway. And then… well… I need your help in getting a dress too."

"I'll get my assistant to find a few good places," Cordelia said, "anyway, I need to get off the phone. The director's gonna go nuts if I'm not there for the scene."

"I'll see you soon," Willow said before putting the phone down while Cordelia rushed past the camera's and onto the set. But not before handing her assistant the phone and telling the young woman to look for a few good dress shops that weren't too pricey.

While the assistant was searching for some good shops, Cordelia was already on set before she took off her robe to reveal herself in a black camisole, cut off a few inches above her knees. She then took in a deep breath before getting into character as the lover of one of the male lead characters whose wife returned from the dead.

"And action," the director yelled.

 **Santa Barbara, 1600 hours.**

Cordelia, in a red blouse and short skirt, rushed to her hotel room door after hearing a couple of knocks. She opened the door to see Willow standing in the hallway with a wide smile on her face. The two of them hugged each other in the hallway with the former redhead internally chuckling that she would never have suspected the both of them getting closer than simple acquaintances.

"So," Cordelia said after letting go of Willow, and then stepping aside to let her into the room. Cordelia then closed the door before approaching Willow, who was in the middle of the room scanning everything with her eyes. The former redhead then turned back to Cordelia who asked her to sit on the bed before continuing, "a date with Tara. I heard she's a nice girl… well, you're the one who told me that she's a nice girl. Helped you out a lot after you got back from Devon."

"She was like a therapist," Willow added, "there's something about her that kept me calm."

"When did she tell you that she was attracted to you?" Asked Cordelia as Willow sat on the edge of the bed in a full sleeved blouse and Jeans. Cordelia looked at Willow from the reflection in her mirror while she was applying her lipstick, and noticed the ascot she was wearing around her neck to cover the scars. Once she was done, Cordelia turned around as Willow told the dark-haired woman about the incident on the plane. "She told you on the plane? Over international waters? That's romantic."

"It was spontaneous," Willow added while she leaned forward clasping her hands together, without mentioning the truth about what happened in Paris to Tara, her main reason for admitting her feelings to Willow. However, she underestimated Cordelia who called her out on her lie, and Willow looked away from keeping focus on Cordelia's reflection, "It's not my place to say, Cordy. All I'll say is that after what happened, she told me that she was attracted to me."

"Must have been really bad," Cordelia arched an eyebrow at Willow while tilting her head to one side and putting away the lipstick. She then walked over to Willow, and sat on the bed next to her before asking if she felt she was just humouring Tara, or if she really wanted anything between them.

Willow stared at Cordelia while leaning forward and breathed in and out for a few seconds while looking straight into Cordelia's eyes. Willow then turned her head and stared at the carpet for a few seconds before saying that she wasn't sure what she wanted. "I don't know what I should do. You know? What if we go on this date and then don't hit it off, what happens? Do we remain friends? And what if we do hit it off, what happens then? I've never even thought about being with a girl before and… I mean I was away for a long time and…"

"A little more than a year," Cordelia reminded Willow while shrugging her shoulders, "nothing much changed and…"

"What do I do, Cordy?" asked Willow interrupting the young woman.

"Well, for the first one? You'll still be friends with her," Cordelia clarified as Willow turned her head to the young woman, "and for the second one? Well, you'll hit it off. It's a good thing, Willow. After everything you've seen and experienced, you need someone good in your life. And when I say 'good' I mean someone who'll love you. Tara said she's attracted to you and if you hit it off with her, you have all the time in the world to… well… discover what two girls do."

"We had coffee on the plane," Willow said blushing before she looked away from Cordelia, "we talked, we joked, we laughed. I knew she was attracted to me, but her asking me out on a date threw me off a little. We were supposed to go to the Espresso Pump for some coffee on a 'not a date-date'. And then the plans were changed to a date. And.. and I said yes. I.. I'm just confused, Cordy."

"Then tell her you changed your mind," Cordelia said as she got up, grabbed her cell-phone, and then threw it at Willow who grabbed it out of mid-air. "Just call her up, and tell her that you'd like to just go for coffee. That you'd like to take in slow."

"She offered to just go for coffee if I wasn't comfortable," Willow said, "but I was the one who said that I was fine with a date, and then Buffy confirmed it was a date, and that Xander would be picking me up and…"

"What's Buffy and Xander got to do with anything?"

"I guess Buffy was with Tara, and she didn't tell me why Xander was picking me up," Willow admitted.

"Nothing's stopping you from saying 'no' again," Cordelia gently told her.

"What would Tara think if I did that?" whispered Willow shaking her head, "but at the same time, I'm terrified that I won't be able to be who she thinks I am."

"What are you talking about?"

"If… if she wants more," said Willow, a quiver in her voice, "and… and eventually let's say I want more too. Cordy, let's say we move onto the next step months away from now? What do I do about my scars? I… Cordy, I have scars all over my body. Scars that'll stay with me for all time… how can I show myself to Tara? I… I can't and…"

"If she's attracted to you, then…"

"The first time we met," said Willow shaking her head, "I was feral… my mind was broken… I was pretty much an animal. She was the first person I encountered, and she didn't see my scars because of all the stuff I was covered in. And the lighting wasn't great either. It's the same with Buffy and the others, no one's seen all my scars… how can I show them to Tara without her being disgusted and…"

"If she's attracted to you," Cordelia said in a stern voice as the white-haired young woman looked at her, "then she'll see past those scars. Listen, how about we leave the room and get some lunch. The fresh air will help you think, and then… once you make your final decision, we either help you get a new dress, or we enjoy each other's company after you tell Tara that you'd like a rain-check."

"Alright," Willow nodded her head, "alright."

It would be at lunch that Willow decided to continue the date with Tara instead of changing it. Willow and Cordelia were talking and occasionally making jokes which made the other laugh. All of this would be happening in-between people approaching the dark-haired young woman for an autograph or two. Some would say that they loved her character, with one mentioning that she hated her character and hoped that she would die off. Willow looked up at the woman who told Cordelia that she hoped her character would die off walk away before turning her head back to Cordelia who had a smile on her face.

"What can you do, right?" she asked shrugging her shoulders.

"The old you would have gone off on her," chuckled Willow as she put down her fork and leaned forward on her chair.

"Those were fun times," Cordelia said absentmindedly.

"Not for me," Willow said as Cordelia gave a small smile before looking away the people around them, and then back to Willow once again, "but that's how the game was played then."

"People suck," Cordelia said as she reached forward and gently grabbed Willow's hand, "but that was a long time ago. And that's not going to stop me from saying that we need to get you a dress that's going to knock Tara's socks off.'

"Cordy," smiled Willow as she held Cordelia's hand, "I just want something simple and… well, nothing too showy."

"Nothing too showy then," Cordelia chirped with a smirk on her face, "put yourself in my hands because… sorry to say, your wardrobe choices still suck."

"Fine," huffed Willow as she leaned back before a smile developed on her face.

 **The Rosenberg Residence, 1950 hours.**

"You look good, my dear," said Ariel who was 'floating' on the bed cross-legged while she stared at Willow's reflection. "the green really does bring out your eyes."

Willow smiled at her mentor as she looked over her shoulder, and then looking back into the mirror at herself while she put on her lipstick. Her entire wardrobe for dinner later that night was selected by Cordelia since the latter didn't like Willow's initial choices. The former redhead was wearing a light green satin dress that went down to her ankles, and was fitted perfectly in all the right spots.

And Willow recalled blushing when Cordelia winked at her when she pointed out that particular fact. Willow then looked at her sleeves which covered her entire arms, and was opaque… but not enough for Tara or anyone to see the scars on her arms. However, the dress didn't have a collar at all, so Cordelia had her assistant help with make-up to conceal the scars that could be usually seen on her neck.

As she looked at her reflection now, the scars were concealed as best as possible. No one could see them unless they were looking really closely. Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, Willow turned around with her hair, already having been cut and straightened, fell to the sides of her face.

Willow asked how she looked while closing her eyes.

"Good," said a female voice.

Willow opened her eyes and saw Niko floating on top of her bed where Ariel had been just a few seconds ago. The young woman smiled before telling the Ranger if she was doing the right thing.

"I've always liked Goose," said the Ranger who as in her uniform, "never really thought about being in a relationship with anyone else."

"Load of good you are then," Willow said sarcastically as Niko smirked.

"Well, I am your sub-conscious," Niko said as she landed on Willow's bed, "I miss it, you know."

"Travelling through the stars?" asked Willow with Niko nodding her head. "Me too. I mean I have your memories of flying in Ranger-One, going into hyperspace, and space battles… wow! Space battles. But too bad the technology to make that technology does exist."

"Don't I know it," Niko chuckled when the doorbell rang. She then looked at the closed door as Willow grabbed the door knob. Willow said goodbye to Niko, who then wished her good luck for the date that night, and vanished. Willow then sighed, opened the door, and then walked into the hallway as the bell rang again. The former redhead asked Xander to give her a minute as she walked down the stairs.

It was time for her date with Tara. She then opened the door to find Xander grinning at her in a tuxedo. Willow knew that the night could go one of two ways as she closed the door behind her. It could be a disaster, or one of the best nights of her life.

"What's going on, Xander?" asked Willow in her dress as she sat in the backseat of the car, as ordered to by the young man.

"It's a surprise, Will," was the only reply as he looked at Willow through the rear-view mirror before saying that she looked beautiful. The former redhead gave a small smile before looking out the window at the buildings whizzing by. It would be several minutes later that the car stopped at the bottom of Xander's apartment complex.

Willow was helped out of the car, and then the both of them walked up the stairs and through the apartment complex. Xander told Willow to hold off all questions when it seemed the former redhead was going to ask a few. The both of them entered an elevator, and Xander took them to the topmost floor. Once the doors opened, Willow got out of the elevator car and was met by Buffy.

"Buff?" asked Willow narrowing her eyes at the young woman as the doors to the elevator, with Xander inside, closed behind them.

"You look great," said Buffy as she held Willow's hand. The both of them were in a hallway where there was a staircase on the other end that led to a roof access door. In the lit hallway, Buffy looked at Willow and said she was sorry, for everything, "and this is one way I'm making up for my mistakes. There are some things I know I can't be forgiven for; but this is one thing that I know I can help fix. Tara likes you."

"I…"

"She likes you a lot," Buffy gently said holding both of Willow's hands, "I know this isn't something you expected, but we… as in me, Faith, Xander, Althanea, Anya, Jenny, mom, and even Giles, know you and her would work. I know I pushed the both of you into this, but I know I did the right thing because I know the both of you would hit it off."

Willow looked at the hands which were holding onto her own hands, and then looked up into Buffy's eyes. She then took a few quick breaths before saying "whatever happens, happens." Willow then smiled as Buffy leaned in, and gently placed a kiss on her cheek. Willow had he eyes closed while pushing back dark thoughts to the back of her mind, and then opened her eyes… and smiled.

"Come on," Buffy said gently as she walked with Willow towards the stairs. They walked up to the door, and Buffy opened it to reveal the lights on the roof were turned off, but in a corner, was a table surrounded by floating lights. Willow's mouth was hanging open as she looked at the dim white lights. Willow saw the figure sitting on a chair slowly getting up just as Althanea approached her from the side, and kissed her cheek before saying she looked beautiful.

"The lights were your idea," Willow said knowingly as she looked at her mentor while the figure standing at the edge of the table, her hand grasping at the edge.

"When Buffy told me what she was planning with Xander and Tara, I agreed to help out," said the older woman, "now, I should go check on the food." Althanea then held onto Willow's shoulder, and said, "and you should take in your date. And trust me, she looks to die for."

Althanea then walked past Willow and through the door. Willow was looking at the figure at the table, and then at Buffy.

"I'm gonna help Althanea," she said gently before kissing Willow on the cheek again. Willow then watched Buffy leaving through the door, and the young woman turned around before walking towards the figure, Tara. And the closer she got, the more Willow's eyes adjusted to the dim white lights around her… it was as if a small area of the roof was lit up to exude romance.

And then she got a good look at Tara standing in front of her.

The blonde's hair were in curls that feel along the side of her face, while she wore a dress that went up to her knees, and showed off her shoulders… the straps of the dress were holding onto her upper arms, and a bit of her cleavage. Willow felt her face getting warm as she eyed Tara up and down while the both of them stood nervously at either end of the table.

"You look great," Tara said nervously while her hands were on her sides.

"You… you too," Willow said as she looked at Tara's face. She could tell that the both of them were nervous, and then she heard a voice in her ear telling her to say something. Willow's gaze shifted to see Ariel by her side, pushing her to open her mouth and say something.

And Willow was about to say something. She wanted to say anything that would break the ice, but it was Tara who beat her.

"How… how was your day?"

Willow then released a sigh of relief while Ariel whispered into her ear, "Wuss." The former redhead chuckled before taking a few steps towards Tara and saying that she had been to Los Angeles for a few hours to talk to a friend.

"If you didn't want a date, you could have said 'no' instead of having to go to another city," joked Tara before giggling. And that's what did it; it broke the ice. Willow started laughing too while saying that she was just nervous about going on a date.

Tara slowly calmed down as she took a step forward until the both of them were just inches apart, "at least you came back."

Willow just looked at Tara, and she tried to push down her nervousness, her fears, and her doubts. She was so close to Tara that she took in the scent of the perfume the witch was wearing. But Willow herself didn't know whether she should say anything about it. But once again, she was beaten to the punch by Tara who commented on the perfume Willow was wearing. The former redhead then smiled as the evening went on from there with Buffy returning with two glasses and a bottle of wine for the both of them.

"Althanea said it's ok," said Buffy smirking at the both of them, "just don't overdo it."

Tara and Willow then sat down while Buffy poured them a drink before saying that the food was nearly done. Once Buffy left again, Tara and Willow leaned forward on the table and simply talked about their lives. Anything they didn't talk about on the plane…. they talked about during their date.

And Willow enjoyed every moment of it.

TBC.


	46. Chapter 46

**Xander's Rooftop, a few hours later.**

Althanea offered to take Willow and Tara back home after their date was finished. The both of them were finished with one part of their date after having some homecooked food and wine. Once they were done with the eating and drinking, the two girls continued to talk to each other. Eventually, it was time to go, with Althanea having made the offer at nearly midnight. Willow and Tara looked at each other in surprise, the both of them were unaware that so much time had gone by; and Willow couldn't help but give a small smile as she looked away from Tara, who told Xander that she was sorry they were having their date for that long of a time.

"I thought that maybe an hour went by," said Tara sheepishly.

"Same here," Willow said before looking around the roof-top and then back at Xander and Althanea, "where's Buffy?"

"She didn't want to bother you," said Althanea as she held Willow's hand, "she went home with Faith. The both of them should be patrolling now."

"Oh, ok," Willow said nodding her head. She wanted to go and patrol as well, but the former redhead had enjoyed the date with Tara. And to her own surprise, Willow didn't want it to end. As she glanced at Tara, Willow wondered if the witch had a power to make others become calm when close to her- she wondered if Tara had a gift to actually make people want to be with her. However, Willow shook her head before thinking to herself that those theories sounded ridiculous.

"I… I don't mind taking Tara home on foot, Althanea," Willow found herself saying, much to her own surprise. As to the surprise of Tara. The blonde witch glanced at Willow who said, "if I remember my dating etiquette correctly, one of us should see the other off at home. So, I can walk with Tara back to the dorm and then fly home from there… and go on a patrol."

"You sure?" asked Althanea raising an eyebrow at Willow.

"Yea," Willow replied while Tara looked over at the former redhead. The blonde wanted to reach out and hold Willow's hand, but instead she kept her arms by her side. She then glanced over at Xander, who winked at her. Tara smiled, her face turning red, before she and the others walked out of the roof access door while Xander cleaned up the plates.. leaving the table on the roof for the next morning when he would take it away. After saying their goodbyes to Xander, Willow and Tara took the elevator down to the ground floor, and then walked to Althanea's car. Althanea entered her car after asking Willow and Tara once again if they were sure about walking back to the dorms.

"Willow can protect me," chuckled Tara as Willow smiled while placing a hand on her bare shoulder. Willow then nodded her head before saying that they were going to be alright. Althanea then nodded her head in return before she then drove off. Once she was on her way, Willow and Tara started walking towards the apartment complex exit under the clear and warm night. The both of them were very aware that walking back to the dorm would take nearly thirty minutes.

The both of them walked in silence; one waiting for the other to say something.

"I… I liked the time we spent together," Tara said, breaking the ice once again. Willow looked back at Tara as their shoes hit the ground. The former redhead gave a small smile before nodding her head. She then looked forward while Tara inched slightly closer until their arms brushed each other while they were swinging along their bodies. Tara then, after the initial brush, glanced over at Willow who was glancing back at her. Tara knew that Willow wasn't sure about the both them. And she didn't want to push.

But Tara knew she liked Willow. Tara knew that she was attracted to Willow. Very attracted to Willow.

As they walked together out of the exit and onto the pedestrian walkway, Tara decided to risk go out of her comfort zone and make her first physical 'move'. The blonde witch knew that it would be out of character for her, but she wanted to know if there was any part of Willow that felt as she did. One part of her believed that the date was simply Willow's way of making her feel better about herself; Tara thought that Willow was simply trying to not embarrass her by saying 'no', so instead she said 'yes'. There was only one way to be sure if she had any chance with the former redhead.

Inching closer to her, Tara then reached out and brushed against Willow's hand with her own. Their arms continued swinging by their sides as Tara brushed her ham against Willow's hand once again. The blonde witch glanced at Willow, she hoped for a reaction of disgust or acceptance. But Tara got neither, at least from her physically. But Tara could see from Willow's aura that she was feeling nervous.

So Tara stopped brushing Willow's hand. She put her arms closer to her side and inched away while trying to keep the fact that her heart was breaking from showing on her face. If anything, else, Tara glanced down at herself and mentally noted that she was glad she took this particular risk. Tara then took a few deep breaths as they continued walking until, all of a sudden, Willow stopped. Once Willow stopped, Tara stopped as well, and turned to look at Willow who took a deep breath. The both of them stared at each other for a few seconds, at least until Willow broke the silence.

"Would… I mean… I don't know if this is… what I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure if I'm doing this right," Willow said as she took a step forward while Tara tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at the former redhead, "we had this great dinner tonight and I don't know how to top this. I…."

"Will?"

Willow remembered her conversation with Cordelia earlier that day, focusing on their conversation while the both of them were trying out dresses. Cordelia asked her if there was anything else Willow was afraid off other than having a relationship with another woman; something she never expected. As Willow looked at Tara, who was waiting for an answer, the former redhead thought back to the answer she gave Cordelia, "one thing is the scars. The other things is… I mean…"

"Do you want to be in a relationship again?" asked Cordelia.

"I don't know," Willow replied as she looked at her reflection in the mirror while she was holding up a dress. She looked at her scared body before looking away, "I… I'm afraid of what would happen if the date goes really well and… and we start something. What happens if we start dating and… and…"

"You mean what if you;;re happy?" asked Cordelia who was in the changing room right next to Willow.

"I…."

"Do you want to be happy?" asked Cordelia.

"Yea, I do," Willow said as she looked over her shoulder at the wall, behind which Cordelia was putting on her dress.

"Then why are we even having this conversation," Cordelia said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

And that was what Willow was thinking as she looked at herself in the mirror. She wanted to be happy. After nearly a thousand years of torture, she wanted to be happy. And then Willow realized that she hadn't been happy since returning to the land of the living. She hadn't been having a feeling in her heart that would warm her entire body. She remembered having that feeling when she used to hang out with Oz, Buffy, Xander, and Giles. But she wasn't feeling it now.

At least not until her date with Tara. Actually, the more Willow thought about it as she looked at the mirror, she had that feeling whenever she was around Tara.

"This date was… how can I top this if I want to go on another date?" asked Willow as she looked at Tara back at the present moment.

"So," said a hopeful Tara, "there's a second date?"

"I haven't been… wait, you know how there's a warmth you feel when you're happy?" asked Willow as Tara looked on while the former redhead who hovered her hands over her own body, "I haven't felt that since coming back. Well… I mean… I have felt that. I felt that when I'm around you and…"

"We could go for coffee tomorrow?" asked Tara as she sensed Willow may not have been as freaked out as she thought. "I mean we were planning for that last night and… and I mean… I mean we've already seen each other all dressed up and everything so we know what to look forward to when we have a date like this or…"

"Another date like this?" asked Willow with an eyebrow raised as she thought about the date the just had on the roof of Xander's building.

"I mean… you know… in a proper restaurant." stammered Tara when Willow started to chuckle before saying that she looked great.

"I don't know if I said that," Willow said as she looked at Tara's face, "but… Tara, this is all new to me. I…. I just want to take it slow."

"I understand," said Tara as she took a step closer to the former redhead, "so… ummm… you wanna get back to the dorms?"

"Yea," Willow said as she took a step closer to Tara before the blonde witch nodded her head. The both of them then headed towards the building in the distance. It would be forty minutes later that Willow walked Tara to her room in Stevenson hall. The two of them stood outside Tara's door, the blonde thanking Willow while they were standing in the hallway.

"You.. you wanna come in for a little while?" asked Tara as she reached into the purse she was holding and took out her room key, "I… I mean to… wait, sorry. You said you wanted to take it slow and.. and I didn't mean to rush you and…"

"It's alright," chuckled Willow.

Tara gave a smile before she took a step forward and asked if Willow would be alright with a hug. The former redhead nodded her head before the both of them hugged each other. Willow's hands were on Tara's back while her chin rested on Tara's bare shoulders. She took in the scent of the perfume Tara was wearing while the aforementioned witch held on tight to Willow and rested her chin on the former redhead's shoulder. Tara closed her eyes and took in the scent of Willow's perfume for a few more seconds before the both of them pulled back. The both of them looked into each others eyes for just a second before Willow stepped back.

"I… I should get going, Tara," said Willow, "I.. I want to patrol a bit before going to bed and…"

"I… I'm going to study for a little bit," Tara said before she looked at her door, and then back at Willow. She wanted Willow to stay. She wanted to scream at Willow to stay. But all that came out of Tara's lips were, "so… so I'll see you tomorrow for coffee?"

"Yea," Willow nodded her head as she took a few steps back before she wished the blonde goodnight. Tara waved her hand before watching Willow walk away. She then opened her door, walked into her room, and leaned her back against the door after closing it once again. Taking a deep breath, Tara then told herself she had more than enough time to enjoy Willow's company.

'At least until my demon self takes over and Buffy and Faith have to kill me,' thought Tara to herself before she walked towards her washroom.

 **The Rosenberg Residence, Willow's Room, two months later; 2100 hours.**

After that first date involving the rooftop dinner, came the coffee date the next day. Following that, there were several other dates between both Willow and Tara… with each date making the other certain that they were made for each other. The coffee dates were soon accompanied by the both of them going out with each other to dinners at the Summers house, or to movies, or more coffee, dinners, and even to Kingmans Bluff where they watched a meteor shower.

It was two months later that Tara knocked on Willow's door. The former redhead had invited her and the other Scoobies to her home for a pizza party with Willow telling them it was a surprise. Tara looked around after knocking the door and noticed that there were no other cars in the driveway before turning back to Willow, who was in a simple turtle neck long sleeved T-shirt and jeans. Willow then smiled at Tara before stepping aside to let her into the house. After closing the door once Tara was in the foyer, Willow said that the others were coming an hour later.

"An hour later?" asked Tara as she looked at her wristwatch, and then back at Willow with confusion on her face, "you asked me to come by an hour earlier?"

"You didn't tell Buffy you were coming now, right?" asked Willow as she led Tara to the living room.

"I haven't seen her or Faith the whole day, and we live in the same dorm," Tara replied as she looked on at Willow with questions swimming in her mind, "Will? Everything alright?"

"Well, I'm glad that…." Willow stopped talking a she looked at the look of curiosity on Tara's face. She clasped her hands together before sighing, and then admitting that she hadn't ordered anything yet, "actually I was about to order and… well… okay… you know what? I may not have thought this whole thing through."

"Will?" asked Tara as she took a step forward and held Willow's hand, "what's going on? I mean, we are having dinner tonight, right?"

"Yeah, of course, and…." Willow stopped talking before she pulled back her hand from Tara's gentle grip and waved her hands around, turned to the side, leaned down at the coffee table, and picked up an envelope. She handed the envelope to the confused Tara who held it in her hand before taking out the letter inside. Reading the letter, Tara smiled before she looked up at Willow.

"You got admitted to U.C. Sunnydale?" said Tara before she put the envelope down on the table. She then rushed forward and hugged Willow tight while whispering into her ear, "congratulations. Your parents would have been proud."

"I hope so," whispered Willow as she held on tight to Tara while mentally preparing herself for what she wanted to do next.

"But I still don't get why you wanted me to come here an hour early," Tara whispered. Willow then smiled while her chin rested on Tara's shoulder before whispering.

"Because I want to make sure I know what I'm doing," Willow said before she breathed in Tara's scent, and then positioned her head so that she could kiss the blonde's neck. Willow felt Tara get tense as she lay one kiss, and then another, on Tara's neck. It wasn't long before one of Tara's hands travelled down Willow's side and the other hand up to the back of her head. Willow paused before whispering in Tara's ear again, "I saw video's so I'm not sure about…"

Tara pulled away slightly, and then looked into her eyes with a playful gleam, while running her hand through Willow's hair before pulling her in and kissing her on the lips. The both of them held each other tight as they kissed vigorously for the next few minutes before Tara pulled back once again. They rested their forehead's together while looking into each other's eyes and breathing hard, their hearts racing as Willow's hand rested on Tara's hips while Tara herself was playing with Willow's hair.

"What videos have you been watching?" breathed Tara as Willow closed her eyes and released a chuckle. The former redhead looked at Tara once again when she said, "and you said this is your first time kissing a girl."

"It is," Willow breathed as they stared at each other in the lit living room.

"Did you like it?" smirked Tara.

"Yes," Willow replied before the both of them kissed once again. While they were kissing, Tara pulled Willow's entire body closer as she slowly kissed down to the nape of her neck. The former redhead was enjoying the sensations going through her body when she felt Tara pulling the turtleneck down. Willow snapped open her eyes just as Tara's tongue gently brushed over one of her scars before she pulled back away from the blonde. Willow took a few steps back while pulling up her turtleneck as she looked away from Tara.

In return, the confused witch saw the distress on Willow's face while she was rooted to the spot. Here she had been kissing Willow on the lips, and she wanted to do more. So, she hooked her finger into the turtleneck, and slightly pulled it down while kissing the exposed skin. The last thing she remembered was running her tongue over a scar when Willow pulled back.

'Oh goddess,' Tara thought to herself as Willow took another step back before nervously looking around, 'her scars, I… I may have gone too far and…' Tara then shook her head and stepped forward while saying, "I'm sorry, Willow. I didn't mean to push you and…"

"No it.. it was me," Willow replied shaking her head as she walked around the couch, keeping it between herself and Tara. "I… I should have told you that I… I 'm still not ready to… you know. Show myself to you, or to anyone."

"That's fine," Tara reassured Willow while remembering their trip to Paris where Willow never changed in front of her because of the scars. And that led to Tara wanting to kick herself. Walking around the couch while Willow had holding onto the soft back, Tara reached out for and held Willow's hand, "that's fine." Tara then placed her other hand on Willow's cheek before a smile formed on her face, a reassuring smile, "Willow, I… I want to be with you. And I'll wait until you're ready. We'll take it slow but… but I want you to know that I want you. I want you, scars and all."

"Tara…" Willow said as she looked down at the floor, and then back up after taking a deep breath to steady herself as she remembered each and every scar on her body, as well as the brand on her chest and on her shoulder, "I have a lot of scars. I… I do and I'm still deciding on whether to use a glamour spell even if it's for personal use and…"

"I want you, Willow," Tara said as she leaned in slightly, "I want you. I want the scars you have on you. I want all of you… I want nothing hidden away."

"Give me time?" asked Willow. Tara then nodded her head before leaning in and brushing her lips against Willow's, "maybe you could kiss me, and then we make the order?"

"Or we could order, and then kiss," whispered Tara as she placed one kiss after another on Willow's lips before slightly parting as they whispered, "gives us more uninterrupted time to kiss. That sound good?"

"Great," breathed Willow before she picked up the phone, and then made the order. Once she was done, Willow walked over to Tara who took the former redhead in her arms. And them the bot of them passionately kissed each other.

TBC.


	47. Chapter 47

**Sunnydale, four months later.**

Willow, as Nighthawk, ducked just as a vampire swung a fist over her head. She then punched up into his armpit, dislocating his shoulder. Screaming in pain, the vampire stepped back while holding onto his left arm which was hanging limply out of its socket. The masked vigilante then reached to the holsters on her hips and took out her batons while the vampire, who was soon joined by another one, pushed his arm back into the socket and the two of them tried to tackle her to the ground. Nighthawk deftly avoided their tackles before she turned and ran to get some distance between her and the two vampires following her.

With Faith having gone on a trip to Los Angeles with Graham to help Angel Investigation, something that made the former redhead frown, everyone else was on board to do a patrol around the city. Buffy, Xander and Anya would be taking care of one of the cemeteries, and Willow had already flown over and inspected the other four from overhead until she reached this particular one where the two vampires had just risen from their graves. In the meantime, Joyce was at home alone. As for Giles, he was busy helping Jenny move into his apartment while Althanea was working a late shift at the hospital whereas Tara was soundly asleep at their home.

Back in the cemetery, Nighthawk led the two vampires while flicking her wrists and then extending the batons. All of a sudden, she then turned around at a dime and rushed towards the two vampires. She then leapt into the air once she was a few inches away, and used her telekinesis to flip over the heads before landing behind them. Surprised, the vampires turned and growled just as Nighthawk swung her hand and slammed one of the batons into the side of one of the vampire's faces. She then grabbed the two batons using her telekinesis while she flipped backwards and mentally swung the steel rods into the vampires multiple times. Standing still, Willow then crossed her arms over her chest while hearing 'thud's and 'whacks' as the steel rods impacted the bodies of the two vampires who were growling.

Eventually, after a few seconds, the impacts of the rods were too much and the vampires fell onto the grass. With the two vampires lying on the ground battered and bruised, Nighthawk pulled the batons back to her hand, and then walked over to the two bleeding vamps. She then retracted the steel rods into the handle before holstering the weapons.

"Remember what I taught you, Willow," Ariel said as she stood to the left of the two vampires while Nighthawk stepped over one of them, and titled her head. She then lifted her hand which was formed into a fist aimed at the vampire's chest. "Concentrate."

Willow started to breathe deeply as she focused her telekinesis around her fist.

"Come now, my student," Ariel said sternly, "this is something that even Niko has been capable of doing for a limited time without her badge. Since you are unable to wield a projectile weapon and the fact that a projectile weapon will not work on these vampires, you will have to make do with the blasts while staying within your own mental limits. Especially since it's not like Alpha Radiation is available at your local gas station."

Willow smirked under the balaclava as she concentrated while an orange hued energy started to gather just above her fist. It was the same type of telekinetic blast she used to destroy Oz's house after he died, except the size of the glow was smaller. Willow started to breathe hard as she fired the blast and dusted the vampire. She then turned to the other one and dusted him before falling onto one knee. And panting.

"You're still getting used to the telekinetic bursts," said Niko, who had taken Ariel's place, "it was the same for me too. Which is why I used the energy shotgun. Without using the badge, the Telekinetic bursts take a lot out of you… and it took a lot out of me."

"I thought it was just me feeling exhausted," whispered Willow as she started to slowly get back to her feet. She stood up straight and then attempted to take a step forward. But her head started to spin, just as it did during her training, and she stumbled forward before getting down onto the soft grass.

"Oh," Willow said as she lay on her stomach while looking up at a thick trunked tree a meter away. She then slowly crawled towards it.

Upon reaching the tree, she pushed herself up while turning around and then leaned her back against the hard trunk. The young woman then mumbled a spell that created a glamour of herself in a pair of blue jeans, blue shirts and a black leather jacket. It was so that a groundskeeper wouldn't come by and find her in her Nighthawk uniform. "I'm just going to close my eyes for a few minutes. I'll try not to sleep too long."

"Hey, at least you didn't get a nose bleed like the last time," Niko said as Willow smirked before closing her eyes.

While Willow was taking a short nap, Buffy had just begun her encounter with the famous vampire known as Dracula. The Slayer launched into an attack of her own while Riley lay on the ground groaning in pain after he attacked Dracula, who then swatted him aside.

 **Rosenberg Residence, Sunnydale.**

It would be an hour later after Dracula left Buffy alone once Xander and Anya arrived as the back-up, with the vengeance demon recognising the vampire with a blush on her cheek, that Willow opened her eyes. She groaned at the throbbing in her head as she slowly pushed herself off the grass, and got to her feet. She then looked around for any people around her before undoing the glamour. Back in her Nighthawk uniform, the former redhead used her magic to take off into the air since her headache was preventing her from using her telekinesis. Willow flew back home where she opened the window to her room, and then closed it behind her after slipping inside.

Willow then turned and took off her balaclava and goggles while she stared at Tara sleeping in their bed.

The both of them had moved in with each other last month once the Summer break ended, and Fall classes were about to begin. A month into the new college semester, Willow stared at the sleeping witch and gave a small smile at how patient she was with everything. And this included Willow's desire not to be in the nude with her because of the scars, which she had already tried covering up with a glamour spell, but somehow it didn't work; to Willow waking up some nights screaming and covered in sweat from nightmares about her time in hell.

The former redhead took off the belt containing her pepper spray and the batons and placed them in the closet. She then took off her holsters containing her combat knives before placing them in the closet as well. She then took off her boots, gloves, socks, and then with her bare feet on the carpet, walked over to Tara's side of the bed. Willow leaned down and kissed the blonde witch's forehead before pulling away as Tara moaned before stretching her arms over her head and opening her eyes to find Willow looking back at her.

"Hey, baby," Tara whispered as she slowly sat up, a groggy look on her face as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. She then sat cross-legged while Willow sat in front of her on the bed. "Had a good night?"

"Yeah," Willow said, "sorry I got… I mean.. you know that thing I've been trying to do?"

"Your telekinetic blasts?" asked Tara while Willow nodded.

"Well, I tried it today and.. well… I was knocked out," said a sheepish Willow as Tara knitted her eyebrows and looked on in concern. Noticing the look of concern as they sat in the dark, Willow waved her hands while continuing to speak, "I'm alright, I… I just have a headache and… and I'm just going to take a shower before…"

Willow then saw the look of longing in Tara's eyes, a look that vanished and was replaced by a great sadness as the witch looked away momentarily. Willow looked away too, a little bit of guilt swelling inside her, before turning around and whispering to Tara that she would be back soon.

Tara looked on as Willow slowly got off the bed with her shoulders hunched forward. Willow then shuffled towards the door as Tara looked on... she could feel sadness coming off Willow.

And Tara knew why. She then pulled the blanket covering her away and starting to get off the bed.

In the meantime, the former redhead walked slowly through the hallway while she imagined kissing Tara; the feel of the blonde witch's lips was on her mind. That's as far as Willow was willing to go, and the knew that it was causing a strain to their still young relationship.

Willow knew Tara wanted more, and that she herself needed more, but Willow continued to stop herself from going further. Almost at the door to the shower, Willow stopped when she heard footsteps behind her, and turned around to see Tara in her knee length shirt walking twoards her. The blonde then stopped barely a step away with her hands lying right next to her sides.

Willow then took a step closer to Tara as the latter placed a hand on her cheek and looked right into her green eyes; green eyes which shone even in the darkness. The both of them just looked at each other while Willow raised her hands and placed them on either side of Tara's neck and gave her a sad smile before sighing and looking away.

It was then that Tara's hand went to the small of Willow's back and gently pulled her in for a kiss to the top of her head. Willow closed her eyes and breathed in slowly as she felt Tara's lips. As Willow pulled her head up, Tara kissed her forehead, and then her cheeks, and then finally passionately kissed her full on the lips.

At that moment, as they furiously kissed, both Willow's guilt and Tara's sadness melted away. Tara gently pulled Willow back to their room and magically slammed the door while reaching out with a hand to physically flip a switch.

The lights came on, and then Willow and Tara's lips parted. The both of them looked at each other while panting before Willow looked up at the light, and then at Tara staring back at her.

"I just wanted to see you in the light," Tara whispered as she ran her hand through the former redhead's hair.

Tara was panting as her hands then moved to Willow's back, while the latter's hands were rubbing Tara's back over her shirt. Willow leaned in for another kiss as she melted in Tara's arms with the events of that night being squeezed to the back of her mind while their tongues danced. One of Willow's hand went down to the small of Tara's back, and then went underneath Tara's shirt and her finger's brushed against bare skin.

At the feeling of Willow's fingers running up her back while her other hand was entangled in her blonde locks, Tara released a moan as the both of them continued their kiss.

The two of them had made an agreement after their first kiss, that while it would be difficult for the both of them, Tara would wait to take their relationship further until Willow felt comfortable. And Willow agreed that she won't let the relationship be a one-way physical relationship; the both of them had to be involved in the more intense physical aspects of the relationship.

Little did they realise, it was that very promise that was causing a strain in their relationship. A strain they usually hid well, but there would be cracks in their facades sometimes. Tara would mentally tell herself to push the issue with Willow, that she loved her no matter what; but she would always back off at the last moment. As for Willow, she would keep on telling herself whenever they kissed that it was time to ignore her scars and just push their relationship to the next level. But she couldn't.

At least not yet. And as the days went by, Willow feared that she could never push forward. She feared that Tara would eventually leave her.

Willow crashed back down to Earth and broke the kiss when Tara released a moan from her lips. It was then that Willow stared at Tara, at the longing in her eyes, and guilt crashed down on her again. Willow could feel Tara's warm skin as they stared at each other, with Tara breathing in and out slowly through her mouth while her hands were at Willow's waist.

"I.. I… sorry, Tara," Willow whispered as she quickly moved her hands away from underneath Tara's shirt, "I.. I should go and take a shower and then…"

"Ye.. yeah," mumbled Tara who looked away and released her hold on Willow's waist before stepping back. She sat back down on the bed, while Willow stared at her, and then closed her eyes and turned around. She opened the door, and then rushed to the shower while her heart ached. Tara, once Willow was out of the room, got up again and walked towards the lights, flipped the switch and then walked back to the bed in the dark. She could sense Willow's guilt and deep frustrations at not being able to take their relationship to the next step, but without purposely pushing her… Tara didn't know what else to do.

She lay down on the bed while Willow was in in the shower looking at herself in the mirror once she took off her uniform. Willow stared at all the scars on her body and looked away before she looked down while placing hands over her eyes and started to sob softly while she leaned against the wall.

Willow shook her head as she released a silent scream while imagining her time at the hands of Borzan. She remembered his cackling laugh as he stabbed, or cut her, with knives of various sizes that were dipped in hell fire. No matter how much she talked about it with Tara and Althanea, she couldn't forget what was done to her.

It would be ten minutes later that Willow calmed herself down, and then took a quick shower while recalling the kiss she shared with Tara. After she was done, Willow put on a fresh set of clothes and then walked back to her room which was already covered in darkness once again. Upon entering the room, she saw Tara lying on the bed with her back to the entrance. Willow, in her full covered pyjama's, walked around the bed and then lay down next to Tara. She then shifted her body so that she was lying on her side, face to face with her love, and then placed a hand on the blonde's hip. Willow saw Tara open her eyes and look back at her before she shimmied further towards Tara.

The both of them held each other tight as they stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I love you," Tara whispered.

"I love you too," Willow whispered. The both of them soon fell asleep with deep regrets, fears, and challenges still between them.

It would be a few hours later, at the break of dawn, that a woman in a cream and silver coloured dress appeared. She took a step forward towards Willow's side of the bed, and reached down with a hand and placed in on the back of her head.

"It is time, Willow," the woman whispered as she stared at the back of Willow's head, "the beast is nearly at the location of the Matrix. It is time for me to do my part, time for you to be my champion. Time for you to save the world." The woman then looked at Tara, and a smile appeared on her face, "patience, Tara Maclay. You exude patience and calmness. Willow, Buffy, and the others will need that quality over the coming months."

She stared at the sleeping Tara for a few seconds before she looked back down at Willow, and then back at Tara once again, "Farewell, the both of you. the next time I see you both will be as the Slayer's sister." The woman then looked down at willow as she pulled her hand back, "you will heal, Willow. It will take time. And when that time comes, it will be magical for the both of you and it would be the first step in pushing away the fear that's been permeating throughout you since your return. For now, it is goodbye. So, as the people of this world are so fond of saying, see ya later alligator."

The woman then vanished in a flash of white light.

 **Sunnydale, the next night, 2100 hours.**

Joyce and her date were arm in arm walking towards the parking lot while several people rushed past them on the sidewalk. There were many cars driving on the road as Robert led Joyce to his car. The entered the parking lot and walked towards his car while Joyce was telling him that she enjoyed the dinner. Once they reached the car, Robert pulled Joyce around as she chuckled until she was facing him. She placed a hand on his shoulder while he gently pushed her against his car. He then leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Pulling back slightly, the older woman smiled at the man who was now holding onto her hips.

"Listen, before we go on, there's something you need to know," Joyce said as he leaned in to kiss her once again. They both of them passionately kissed before Joyce gently pushed him back gently and broke the kiss. She chuckled looking at the surprise on Robert's face before looking down, taking a deep breath, and then looking up again into his eyes. "I have two daughters. The oldest is nineteen, and…"

"Oh," he said.

"I know I should have said something earlier but we were…."

"That's fine by me," said Robert, stopping Joyce from saying anything else. He then leaned forward and kissed her again before pulling back, "I'd like to meet them."

"I'm sure they'd want to meet you too, and…." Joyce then remembered the whole incident with Ted, and remembered Buffy being suspicious of the man from the beginning while Dawn was eating fried pizza's he made. Joyce then placed a hand on his chest and gently said that she would like to get Buffy and Dawn prepared before taking him home to meet them, "and you need to be approved by their friends too."

"I'm a real fun guy," he quipped, making Joyce giggle as he leaned forward again. Joyce thought he was going in for a kiss when, instead, he reached back and grabbed the door handle. He continued to stare into Joyce's eyes while using his free hand to pull her away from the car door. Once she took a few steps forward, Joyce stepped aside while he opened the door. All the while he was looking at her eyes, and then at her lips, and down to the pastel coloured dress she was wearing. He then led the woman into his car, closed the door, and then rushed around the front and opened the driver side door.

"I've had some unique dates that… well… there was one that hurt my oldest. And he was about to hurt Dawn," said Joyce gently after he got into the car, and closed the door. He then started the car while saying that Buffy and Dawn needed some time to get used to the fact that she was dating again. Robert nodded his head as he leaned back and gently held onto Joyce's hand.

"Take your time," he replied softly, "in the meantime, how about a night cap at my place?"

"It's getting late," Joyce said as she looked at the middle-aged man. It had been a little over two years that she dated the android known as Ted. And Buffy was the one who told her about the robot a few days after Joyce found out she was the Slayer following Willow's death. She was surprised to find out what Ted was, and what he planned to do. The experience made gave her a fear of dating random men without having her Slayer daughter close by in case they turned out to be a robot or a monster. However, with Robert, she felt as if they had connected instantly ever since he showed up at her gallery. "how about a rain check?"

"I'll be okay with that," Robert said with a smirk before he leaned in to Joyce, kissed her on the lips, and then drove the car to drop her off before heading back to his apartment. As he exited his car outside his apartment complex, the man thought about the feeling of Joyce's lips on his own. He thought about the feeling of warmth she exuded as she talked about the painting he was looking to purchase at her gallery before, just so that he could be close to her, inquiring about a sculpture. It was during the time she was showing him around the gallery that he asked her to dinner last night, and he was glad she accepted.

Robert didn't mind that Joyce had two daughters, there was a part of him that wanted to meet the young women. As he was walking through the parking lot after locking his car, he saw a red dressed woman surrounded by people in red robes who had hoods covering their faces. He held the door open for the woman, a statuesque blonde with sultry ruby red lips and an intoxicating perfume, as she walked through with her helpers following her.

"You're welcome," he mumbled under his breath as the woman and her helpers walked through the door without even a word of thanks. Robert sighed, hoping that Joyce's daughter was better than the woman, and walked into the lobby of the apartment complex. He headed for the small crowd that was waiting for one of the elevators. When the door in front of him opened, instead of the one the woman was standing in front of while carrying various shopping bags, Robert walked in and was soon followed by the woman. Face to face in the elevator car, the woman smiled at him while three of her helpers walked in.

"The rest of you take the other one," said the woman as she looked back over her shoulder and then back at Robert. The other helpers stood outside in the lobby as the doors closed and the woman looked at Robert once again. "I've travelled far, and the last time I ate was… well, a few hours ago. And I'm still hungry."

"Well," said Robert while the woman put the bags down, and then placed a hand on his chest. He glanced over her shoulder, and saw one of the helpers press the button for the penthouse, before looking back into the eyes of the woman in red. Robert didn't know why, but he felt a chill run up and down his spine. Her hand was like a vice planting him against the elevator wall when she started to laugh and pull back a hand. Robert shook his head 'no' just before the woman put her fingers into his head. He could feel darkness taking over his mind… he couldn't think… all he heard was screams in his head as he watched the woman panting. A satisfied grin formed on her face, and he felt himself crumble onto the floor. He couldn't think about anything coherent anymore as he watched the woman walk away after the door to the elevator opened at the penthouse.

"Now," said the woman as she looked at the confused man in the elevator mumbling nonsense, "throw that mess away."

"Yes, oh great Glorificus," said one of the helpers as he rushed back into the elevator with another one. Once the doors closed, the woman turned and smiled.

"Where are you, my Key."

TBC.


	48. Chapter 48

**Los Angeles, 2300 hours**

"You should have seen her face, Cordy," an exasperated Willow cried out, raising her arms up to her side before falling back down on her hips. She was pacing the floor while Cordelia, slightly confused, was leaning forward on her couch in a knee length T-shirt and black leggings with a glass of wine in one hand. Willow stopped and then she turned to Cordelia, took a few steps forward, and then raised her arms to her side and huffed before starting to pace again.

Willow then ran her hands through her hair and exclaimed, "she was devastated. And…"

"Maybe devastated is a bit too much?" asked Cordelia before taking a sip of her wine and looking at Willow who was frowning back at her. Cordelia then sighed before she brushed the hair from her forehead back and leant back on the couch, "Willow, you do realize that you just flew in through the window. And then you started pacing on the carpet with your whole mask thingy off in your whole vigilante costume thing and then you said 'you should have seen her face, Cordy', who are you talking about?"

"Oh, right," Willow whispered before looking out the large balcony windows which were wide open. Willow then sighed and thought to herself she was lucky that Cordelia's apartment was high up in the building, and that the darkness covered her entrance. If it was on the lower levels, then the light from the surrounding buildings, the cars, and the street lights, meant that people would have seen her going into Cordelia's apartment. Willow then turned away from the window and frowned while wrapping her arms around her body and staring at Cordelia.

And Cordelia was staring back at Willow with a quizzical look on her face.

Willow then explained that she had been trying to use a glamour to get rid of the scars on her body so that she could be presentable to Tara, and the rest of the world, "you think I like wearing…." Willow then motioned at the uniform she was wearing before crying out in frustration as Cordelia looked on while letting Willow blew off some steam, "those clothes? It's hot out and I always have to wear something with a turtle neck, full sleeves shirts, and jeans… you know how hot it gets?"

Cordelia opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by Willow. The young actress then sighed, took another sip of wine, and just listened.

"I want to show Tara that I'm comfortable around her, I know she thinks that.. that I'm not," said Willow as she started to pace the floor once again for a few seconds before staring at Cordelia after stopping, "and she's right. I'm not comfortable and… I mean, would you be? Would you be comfortable if every time I want to change, I ask you to leave the room? Or that… you know… we're late for class and the only way to get to class on time is to take a shower together and I tell her that I'll wait for her to finish. Or how would you feel if…"

"Oh my God just stop!" Cordelia cried out waving a hand as she put down the wine glass. Willow stopped talking before she raised her eyebrows at the woman who got off the couch, and strode towards her.

"Cord..."

"You're not the only one who has scars, Willow," Cordelia said sternly, "you're not the only one." She then went on to say that there were many people who had scars just like her, "and they live with their…"

"Their scars heal," Willow countered before she, in a moment of anger, unzipped the upper section of her black matte body suit, and then pulled it apart slightly so that all Cordelia could see was the brand on her chest just above her breasts. Willow then pointed at the symbol etched into her chest, and the other visible scars that were next to it. Cordelia, this being the first time she had seen the scars that Willow carried, looked with sadness in her eyes at the scars, and then up at Willows' face. The former redhead explained that the scars would never heal, nor could they be hidden with magic.

Cordelia then looked back down at the scars, and back up at Willow whose face was red while she was panting. Willow then whispered, "my scars will never heal. The scars will always be there, and.. and the symbols that make up the brand on my chest are etched into my ribs, my lungs, my heart…"

Willow then looked away from the stunned Cordelia, and zipped her uniform back up, "my parents had the X-Rays back in the house. I saw what's in me, Cordy. The brand on my shoulder signifies that I am a traitor. The symbols that make up that brand is etched into my shoulder blade too. My whole body is a scar, Cordy."

"Willow," Cordelia said gently as she took a step forward and placed her hands on the white haired young woman's arms, "I'm sorry about your scars. I'm sorry about everything that happened to you, but you need to move on. You have someone who wants to help you move on and you're not letting her."

"I…"

"Do you love her?" asked Cordelia tilting her head as she looked into Willow's eyes which were focused on her floor.

"Yes," Willow said looking up and staring into Cordelia's eyes, "and… and that's why I… I have to tell her that it's over."

"Willow," Cordelia closed her eyes and shook her head.

"She wants someone who can love her… I mean really love her," said Willow, "you didn't see her face last night. She wanted to go on to the next step and… and so did I. I mean I love kissing her and.. and… look, Cordy, it feels like we're going down into a whirlpool. I need her to get away so that she doesn't fall into the middle and drown."

"Stop it," said Cordelia sternly while shaking her head.

"You know I'm right, and…."

"You showed me your scars," Cordelia pointed out.

"Just so that I could…."

"Did you show Buffy? Xander? Dawn? Giles?" asked Cordelia, and Willow stared at her for a few more seconds before looking away and shaking her head.

"Buffy saw me when I came back naked, but the lighting was awful, so…. Yeah,"

"Will Tara love you no matter what?" asked Cordelia.

"That's what she said, that she'll love me no matter what," Willow admitted.

"Then there you go," Cordelia said motioning at Willow who took a deep breath, "and why are you here with me when you could be with her?"

"Because you've always told me the truth," Willow replied as she looked straight into Cordelia's eyes.

And she was right, Cordelia had been brutally honest with all of the Scoobies in high school… at least that was the Cordelia that Willow remembered. "The hard truth even if we didn't need to hear it."

"Exactly," Cordelia said as she leaned in, "and now I'm telling you to get over yourself. You're not going to get through this by yourself. And your moping isn't really helping you or Tara. You said she's the best thing that happened to you since Oz, so tell her that. Tell her that you trust her, and then show her that you trust her.. that you love her. And then?"

"And then?" asked Willow.

"Then you and she have fun for the rest of the night."

Willow smiled before reaching out and hugging Cordelia. She felt the dark-haired woman holding her tight while whispering, "thanks for coming. You're welcome anytime you want to get your head back on straight."

"Ever thought about counselling?" whispered Willow as they continued to hug for a few more seconds before pulling away. Willow looked into her eyes while Cordelia joked that she would probably lose her license if she told anyone else to get over themselves.

Willow couldn't help but chuckle as she and Cordelia slowly walked back to the balcony. Cordelia asked if there was anything she needed to be caught up on.

Willow then told her about how she, Buffy, Faith, Giles, Riley, Xander, and Graham just faced off against Dracula and survived.

"Wait, wait." Cordelia waved her hands, "you mean THE Dracula?" She then raised her arms by her side and imitated the voice of the classic movie Dracula, "let me suck your blood?" Willow chuckled while nodding her head as she put on her balaclava once again. She then put on her goggles before looking at Cordelia and saying that he was after Buffy, who was under his thrall for a few hours. Cordelia then sighed and shook her head before laughing when Willow mentioned that Xander was eating bugs without them knowing about it. "Wait… you mean Xander was Dracula's…."

"Yep," Willow nodded her head.

"Oh my God!" laughed Cordelia. She giggled for a few seconds at the edge of the living room, a step away from the balcony. She soon stopped laughing and looked at Willow for a few seconds before whispering that the white haired woman was going to be fine.

Willow nodded her head before asking, "how about you? Is there you and someone else?"

"Still dealing with the whole Brian-Borzan thing," Cordelia said before continuing to say that she was aware Borzan had been dead for months, "but something like that? Forgetting that? Yeah, not that easy."

"I know," Willow whispered before leaning in to hug Cordelia once again, "come by and visit when you can. Tara and I have a spare room."

"I've got months of shooting coming up," said Cordelia pulling back and looking into Willow's goggles, "after that, maybe yeah."

Willow then nodded her head before flying off into the warm night air. She used her magic to get airborne, and then switched to her telekinesis so that she could travel faster. With the training she's already undergone, Willow was able to travel at a fast rate of speed without getting the decapitating headaches as when she first started using her powers.

While Cordelia closed the balcony doors and then prepared to go to bed, Willow banked in the air as she sliced through the wind, the on-rushing air hitting her uniform while the goggles protected her eyes, and the balaclava protected her hair and her mouth.

 **Sunnydale, a fews minutes later.**

She recalled what Cordelia had told her, and realized that she was moping around. Willow told herself that Cordelia was right, that she had Tara to help her move past everything that happened. It was what the blonde witch had been doing ever since they met. With a renewed sense of a need to see Tara, the very young woman Willow had been avoiding since they woke up together, Willow slowed down slightly.

'I'm not going to tire myself out,' she thought to herself as the wind hissed by.

It was several minutes later that Willow hit the outskirts of Sunnydale. She thought about heading home but instead decided to fly a quick patrol over the city itself... leaving the graveyards to Buffy, Faith, and their significant others. As she flew overhead, Willow slowed down and then stopped mid-air upon hearing someone shouting, "let me go!" Willow narrowed her eyes and then slowly flew overhead until she was over a group of four people dragging a man away.

She saw that the man was unconscious and was being carried; one person was holding onto his upper body while the other was holding onto his legs. Willow narrowed her eyes as she watched the other two walking alongside.

From her vantage point, Willow couldn't tell if the four beings were human or demon, but she could tell that one of them had a female voice.

Willow then straightened her body in mid-air while taking out her batons. With one in each hand, Willow landed onto the street behind the four people as they stepped into an alley that led to another lit street on the other side.

"Hey!" Willow yelled, her voice muffled by the balaclava. Willow jerked her wrists as the people turned around so that the batons extended with a 'click'. Under the light, Willow was able to take a look at the faces underneath the hoods; their skins were wrinkled and covered with scabs of various sizes, their eyes were black with hair that was peeking out from under the hoods. Willow gripped the handles of her baton tight while the beings looked at each other, and then at Willow. "Let the man go."

"Take him away," said one of the being as Willow tilted her head. The creature then turned to Willow while reaching under his cloak only to take out a dagger. And it was the same with the other one while the remaining two creatures carrying the unconscious man began to run away.

"Yea… no.." Willow whispered as she mentally pulled back the person carrying the legs of the unconscious man. The creature was trying to stop himself from being dragged away by an unseen force by trying to get a grip on the road. The fourth creature kept on dragging the man whose feet were now scraping against the surface of the road with the other two holding daggers were in surprise as they watched the third creature being dragged towards them.

Willow stopped him between the other two as she rushed towards them while, at the same time, mentally punching out the fourth creature still dragging the unconscious man.

The unfortunate man's unconscious upper body fell onto the ground while the creature carrying him stumbled to one side while cradling the side of his own face, before falling onto the street. In the meantime, Willow was stepping back from a swing of the dagger from her left.

Avoiding the strike from her right side, Willow jumped and used her telekinesis to then flip her over the third creature who swung at her with his fist. Willow was upside down as she flipped over the third creature, who was earlier dragged backwards, before she, with a 'thwack' against the side of his head with one of the batons, landed behind him and then hit him again. She then, without a word and careful of her breathing, mentally pulled the daggers out of the hands of, who she mentally called, 'Hobbit One' and 'Hobbit Two' and then flung them to the side. The daggers hit the alley wall and then fell clattering to the ground.

The creatures who remained, the three of them, looked genuinely surprised at the daggers flying from their hands. Willow took that opportunity to dash in and then hit Hobbit One on the side of his head while her back was to two of the remaining creatures who shook their heads before attacking her. Willow saw them from the corners of her eyes as they rushed at her.

She then rose high up into the air while mentally taking the batons out of her hands and then slamming one into the abdomen of one of the creatures, who granted, while the other one fell onto the street in the alleyway after the second baton hit the back of its head with a sickening crack.

"Jinx!" yelled the one she mentally called 'Hobbit Three' as she dashed to one of the fallen daggers as Willow floated down to the street. However, before the creature could grab the dagger, Willow mentally flung him away while picking up the dagger with her mind and then stabbing him in the chest.

'They were taking the unconscious guy somewhere,' Willow thought to herself as she ducked another swing from 'Hobbit One' after landing before spinning around with her leg out. She caught the creature's feet, and then tripped him. As he fell to the ground, Willow glanced around and noticed that there should have been four creatures; 'the other two are dead, and this one…' Willow stood up and then dashed to him before he could get up. She stamped her foot down on his throat and stared at him while finishing her previous thought, '.. is still here. So where's Hobbit Four?'

"Who are you?" asked Willow as she stared at the hoodless figure gritting his teeth with black shaggy hair splayed on the ground. "You were taking the poor guy somewhere; where? Why?"

"She… she will be most angry," the creature hissed at Willow before his head turned around to the left and to the right, and then back up at Willow, "you do not deserve to know her name. You do not…"

"Who's 'she'," hissed Willow as she pressed her foot down slightly. She watched the creature's eyes and mouth open wide while gasping for breath. She could tell it was a male from the voice and watched him grab her leg to try and push it off. "Tell me who you this 'she' is, and maybe I'll let you go."

Willow then stopped pressing down on his throat so that he could speak.

"I will never tell you the name of our bright light," the creature said, "and she will be angry at you for stopping us…. Her rage will know no bounds. She is here for the Key, and she will find it. If you are protecting it then…. "

Willow looked on confused underneath her balaclava as she tilted her head at the mentioning of something called the Key. She pressed down with her foot to stop the creature from talking, "now, my dear Hobbit. Before Gandalf comes to save you, tell me what's this Key."

"I will never…"

"Tell me about this Key," said Willow in a bored voice as she looked around while pressing her foot down as the creature gasped. Willow was checking for any movement nearby in case the fourth creature was hiding out somewhere and waiting for the right time to strike. She then looked at the unconscious body of the young man before sighing, 'he can't stay here,' Willow then looked down at the creature looking back at her while grasping her boot and trying to push her off.

The creature looking up at Willow could only think of her god, Glory, and what she would do to the goggle wearing woman whose foot was on her throat. The creature then, with one huge gasp, pushed Willow's foot away. She saw the woman stumble back slightly while she stumbled towards the dagger a few inches away. Upon getting the dagger, the minion felt herself being flung again a wall. She hit the wall while grasping the dagger in her hand and then fell onto the ground with her back to Willow.

Willow, for her part, was slightly surprised by the one moment of strength that the creature used to push her off. She did stumble back just to see the creature reach for the dagger nearby. The former redhead then immediately flung the creature to the side of the wall to the left and watched as it fell back onto the ground. Willow then glanced around and watched for the gleam from the dagger's blade reflecting the lights from the street lamps behind her.

However, there was no blade. Willow sighed and strode to the creature lying still on the floor before using her foot to turn the still body onto its back. Willow stared down at the deep gash on the neck of the creature before she stepped back and looked around; the other two were dead, and the fourth one seemed to have run away.

And then there was the unconscious body.

Willow sighed and then mentally picked up her batons, before retracting them and placing them back into their holsters. She then walked out of the alleyway and to a nearby pay phone where she called the police. Rising back up into the air, Willow watched and waited for either the fourth creature to return so that she could get some answers about the Key or who the 'she' the creature was talking about.

However, it was the police who showed up after five minutes while she was in the air, her black uniform camouflaging her against the night sky.

Willow then flew out to the surrounding area to search for the creature that escaped, eventually flying over one of Sunnydale's four parks and then over a few high rise apartments. However, she found no sign of the creature in the relatively empty areas.

Frowning, Willow wanted to talk to Tara about their relationship, but this encounter had to delay that for a few minutes. Willow instead made her way towards Giles' home, 'just give me a few minutes, Tara. Just a few minutes.'

TBC.


	49. Chapter 49

With the wind rushing past her, Willow neared Giles' apartment complex. Just seconds away from landing, she swerved to the left and then perfumed a barrel roll before she prepared to land outside his door. Seeing that all the other apartment lights were switched off, Willow then used a glamour to hide her uniform as she lowered herself to the ground. Landing wearing a pair of blue jeans, and long sleeved dark blue blouse with a scarf around her neck, Willow then approached the door while glancing at the light emanating through the window from the living room.

'Giles is still awake,' Willow thought as she knocked on the door. She suspected that Giles and Jenny were, possibly at least, wanting some time alone the latter moved in with Giles. However, Willow felt the information of a mysterious 'she' was enough to come to Giles directly. Willow then stepped back as the door opened to reveal Giles in shirt and trousers; his hair tussled while his face was flushed red against the light orange glow from the living room lights. Willow then glanced over to the side behind Giles and saw Jenny having just finished putting on a robe as she got off the couch and walked towards the door.

'Yep, I interrupted something,' Willow thought to herself as she mentally cringed at the thought of Giles having sex. Willow hid her shudder at what could be happening if she hadn't interfered as Willow's eyes then shifted back to Giles, "sorry, Giles. I know you're busy but… something happened while I was patrolling."

"Willow," Giles whispered as Jenny grabbed the man's arm and then stood next to him. She interrupted Giles and asked Willow if she wanted to come in. Willow glanced at Giles looking at Jenny, who was staring at Willow herself; waiting for an answer. The seconds seemed to passed by into hours as Giles turned his head and discretely shook his head at Willow while Jenny was looking away from him. Willow wanted to chuckle as she shook her head at Jenny.

"I can't," Willow said before she looked back at Giles, "these four guys, more like deformed hobbits with scabs, were taking a guy away, Giles. I saved the guy and killed three of the Hobbits but one of them escaped. They said something about a woman. The Hobbit called her a bright light…"

Giles and Jenny looked at each other before looking back at Willow who continued to speak, "… and that she was going to be very enraged. At least something like that. The Hobbit also mentioned that this woman was here looking for something called the Key."

"The Key?" asked Giles as he leaned on the door frame with his arm around Jenny's shoulder. The both of them had perplexed looks on their faces as they tried to recall anything about hearing a Key. Giles and Jenny then looked at each other, while Jenny saying that she hadn't heard anything about any Key among her tribe.

"Neither have I," Giles added narrowing his eyes in confusion at Willow who looked perplexed as well.

"That's what that Hobbit said its boss is looking for, Giles," Willow said.

"This is something we should discuss further tomorrow," said Giles nodding his head, "I will begin when I arrive at the Sunnydale High library tomorrow morning. I'll ask Anya for assistance. Oh, I'll talk to my contacts in the Council. Maybe they heard about this Key, and this 'light' you mentioned, Willow."

"I'll help during lunch," Jenny added.

"Tara and I can come by the library after our class," Willow said nodding her head, "I'll tell Buffy and Faith tomorrow. I don't wanna disturb them now since there's that whole Slayer horny-hunger thing after a battle going on, and…"

"Willow," groaned Giles as he shook his head while Willow and Jenny chuckled.

"Just so you know, Willow," Jenny whispered leaning forward while holding onto Giles' arm, "Rupert and I were about to…"

"Jenny!" whispered Giles as his face turned beet red while his eyes shifted between Jenny and Willow. Willow then chuckled before throwing up her hands and saying that she wold be leaving them alone.

"Just wanted to give you a heads up, Giles," Willow said. Giles, still red-faced, nodded his head as Willow took a few steps back away from the entrance, "I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll tell Althanea too tomorrow, she's working a late shift at the hospital."

"See you, Willow," Jenny and Giles said before the white haired young woman walked away. They saw Willow get into the shadows at the corner of the complex before taking off into the sky. Giles and Jenny then stepped back into the apartment with him closing the door. Jenny walked back to the couch and then asked Giles if they shouldn't simply start on some research before tomorrow morning.

"We can wait until tomorrow," Giles said as he stared at Jenny. "But for right now?" Giles walked towards his girlfriend, skipped around the edge of the couch while Jenny took a few steps towards him. The both of them now inches apart, Giles reached down and then grabbed one end of the tie that held the robe closed around Jenny's body. "For right now?." Giles said as he gently pulled the tie, and the robe split open down the middle. Jenny smirked at Giles before she slipped it off, and then wrapped her hands around him. Giles stared into Jenny's eyes before leaning forward and saying, "we continue what we were about to do." The both of them then kissed as Willow flew straight towards her home.

She swerved in the air as she took in a few deep breaths while her mind raced about the identity of the mysterious woman and how big of a problem she would be to her, Giles, Buffy, and the others. Willow then thought about the Key. She was curious as to what it was, and why this woman was searching for it. Willow then swerved once more when she arrived over her neighbourhood.

"Home sweet home," Willow whispered, "at least I'm hoping it will be a sweet home coming. If Tara's disgusted at my scars then… then it's going to be a bad memory. A really bad memory."

 **Willow's Home, 2345 hours.**

Tara was lying on her side, her back towards the door that led to the room she shared with Willow from the hallway outside. Tara was facing the window which slowly slid up, a breeze then coming in to lift the lace trimmed curtains away from the wood and glass following a light thud- Willow landing on the section of the roof right outside the window. Willow's gloved hand then grabbed the wooden window sill before she put one leg into the room.

The former redhead then manoeuvred her body into the room.

Standing in the bedroom she shared with the girl she loved, Willow stood closing the window with her back facing Tara. Willow then quietly pulled the curtains shut. Where once the light from the moon outside was shining through a gap between the two curtains, it was now cut off. The room was plunged into darkness as Willow took several deep breaths while her hands gripped the curtains edges, keeping them taut and shut.

While gripping the edges of the curtains, Willow had her eyes closed as she steadied herself for what she was about to do.

A part of Willow was still wondering what Tara would do when she saw the scars. But Willow took in another deep breath and exhaled slowly while pushing that thought to one side. She then slowly turned around and took off her goggles and balaclava while staring at her girlfriend who was gently breathing as she slept.

Tara wasn't involved in the whole situation with Dracula, instead only Willow, Buffy, Faith, Riley, and Graham took on the self-styled Lord of Vampires.

Tara was someone Willow wanted away from that particular battle.

Willow stared at Tara as she slept, her arm over her blanket as three books were piled one on top of another on the side table. Willow had a smile on her lips as she ran her fingers through her own hair and wondered what Tara would do, 'would she be surprised? Shocked? Disgusted?'

Willow, shaking her head, then took off her belt as her eyes got used to the dark and she could see the straps of Tara's tank top peeking out from underneath the pastel blanket that covered her.

The air around her was cool thanks to the air-conditioning keeping the room comfortable; much more comfortable then the warm weather outside. Willow felt the air brush against her cheeks from the overhead vent while she took off her holsters. In the meantime, she continued to watch Tara stir in her sleep.

Willow then took off her boots and socks before she walked slowly towards the bed. She placed one knee on the bed's edge, depressing it as she brought her other knee up and onto the bed. The bed gently creaked as Willow slowly crept on all fours to Tara's side until she was hovering over the blonde, her face on top of Tara's ear. Willow then shifted an arm over Tara until her hand lay flat against the section of the bed behind Tara's upper shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, Willow then slowly brought her head down and kissed Tara's cheek. She left a trail of saliva as she gently brushed her lips along Tara's soft skin from her cheeks to her ear. It was then that Willow whispered one word, "Tara." Tara then moaned as Willow brushed the hair off Tara's ear with her nose and then leaned down and nibbled on her ear lobe.

"Will?" Tara breathed as goosebumps erupted on her arms.

Tara opened her eyes slowly to see an arm and part of Willow's body in her line of sight. Tara closed her eyes once again and opened her mouth to take in a gasp of air when she felt Willow gently blowing into her ear. Tara exhaled and then took in a deep breath as the tip of Willow's tongue traced letters of the alphabet behind her ear. Tara grabbed Willow's arm as the kisses by the latter's soft lips then moved to her neck.

"Willow?" Tara whispered in a shaking voice while she felt a tingling sensation through her body. Her face started to feel warm and a spot right behind her ears was getting warm.

"Did I wake you up?" Willow whispered after she dragged her kisses along Tara's neck to her ears once again. After whispering into Tara's ear, Willow pulled back as Tara moved her body around until she lay on her back.

"No," Tara whispered as she looked up at the green eyes looking back at her. It was a lie, Tara had been sleeping soundly until Willow woke her up... however, Tara wasn't going to complain. The former redhead then, before Tara could say anything else, leaned down and pressed her lips against Tara's own.

Tara closed her eyes as she felt their lips together, releasing a breath when Willow gently bit down on her lower lip.

The blonde witch's mind raced when Willow went back to kissing her with an intensity she hadn't felt before. Tara brought her arm from under the blanket and wrapped them around Willow, pulling her down. The both of them were just separated by the blanket and their clothes as Willow moved her kisses from Tara's lips to her cheeks, her jawlines, her throat, and then the sides of her neck.

Tara was running her hands through the hair at the back of Willow's head as the former arched her back. With pleasure going through her body as she breathed a moan, Tara opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling while taking deep breathes to savour the moment. She closed her eyes again and moaned softly when Willow bit gently on her shoulder.

Tara thought that was going to be all.

At least, that was their agreement until Willow was comfortable. And Tara understood. She knew that Willow was nervous about their relationship. And Tara wanted to give Willow time. Yes, she was disappointed that they hadn't been able to go further, but she had always told Willow that she was going to wait.

"I'm yours, Will," was what Tara told her. "I am yours." That was several weeks ago. And just as those other times, Tara felt Willow stop what she was doing. The both of them were breathing had as they stared at each other when suddenly the lights turned on.

Tara was about to open her mouth to ask a question why the lights were turned on, especially since Willow didn't like them to be on in the first place. But before she could ask anything Willow placed a finger on Tara's lips while they stared into each other's eyes.

The entire room was silent, except for the hum of the air-conditioner pumping cool air into the room while Willow got off the bed, and then grabbed the blanket and pulled it off Tara. The witch, for her part, continued to stare at Willow while sitting up. Tara then turned her body to sit at the edge of the bed while Willow took a few steps back. All the while they stared at each other continuously.

Tara tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. She wondered if she was dreaming while she watched Willow bring a hand up to the zipper at the front of her black matte body suit. Tara saw the trembling hand as it gripped the zipper, and then she quickly got off the bed and rushed to her girlfriend.

"Will," Tara said as she grabbed the trembling hand and another hand placed on the side of Willow's head, "you… are you ready for this? You don't have to…"

"I saw how disappointed you were last night," Willow whispered as they stared at each other. Tara shook her head and mentally kicked herself. She didn't mean to show Willow how she really felt; yes, she was disappointed that they hadn't gone further in their physical relationship and it was a stumbling block.

But it wasn't anything that was relationship ending, Tara was willing to take as long as needed for Willow to open herself. Tara hoped to hide that she was disappointed under a façade of calm, but Tara closed her eyes and shook her head while thinking to herself that she slipped last night.

"I'm not disappointed," Tara finally whispered as she held on to Willow's hand, "I really want you to take your time. I love you. And I don't want you to think that you're obligated, and…"

"I'm not," Willow whispered as her hand still trembled while she gripped her zipper, and she knew that Tara could feel the trembling. But Willow also knew she needed to be confident, at least she needed to try and be confident.

"I…." Willow closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She slowly exhaled and opened her eyes, looking back into Tara's brown orbs, and whispered, "I need to do this. Either now, or later. I need to do this sometime."

Tara then felt Willow move her hand downwards slightly. Tara looked away from Willow's face as the latter closed her eyes and looked away since she didn't want to see the look of disgust on Tara's face. Tara, for her part, looked on in astonishment as the zipper was slowly pulled down.

The uniform split in the middle to reveal pale white skin marked with red lines. Some were vertical and horizontal, while some were straight, and others were jagged. There were stab wounds that were revealed as Willow slipped the top of the uniform off her. It hung down her back while her lower body was still covered.

But Tara now could see the full extent of Willow's scars. The truth was that Tara had seen some of the scars when she first ran into Willow. However, the vast majority of the scars were covered in blood and matter that Tara still didn't want to think about.

Now Tara saw the full extent.

Willow's entire body was covered in red lines. Tara couldn't imagine the pain that Willow must have been through when she remembered Willow telling her about feeling pain every time she was resurrected after death. Tara saw the brand on Willow's chest, and lines of red along the brand. There were other scars from what seemed to be stab wounds to her abdomen, her chest, the length of her arms just until her wrist, her shoulders to the base of her neck.

Under the light, Tara could make out the lines of scars along Willow's neck, the very same scars Willow would hide with turtlenecks or scarves.

"Oh, Willow," Tara whispered as she got off the bed, rushed forward, and hugged her. Tara felt the disgust Willow felt at herself; she felt Willow's fear that she would be thrown to one side and Tara would leave. It was an intense fear that caused a pain in Tara's chest.

As for Willow? She readied herself for the inevitable gasp of disgust.

Instead, Willow opened her eyes with tears already gathered as Tara kissed her cheeks. There were no words as Tara started to kiss down Willow's cheek to the side of her neck. Tara stopped at one of the scars, and then lifted her head to whisper in Willow's ear. "I still love you. Nothing's changed." In the meantime, she brushed a finger along the length of one of the neck scars and smiled at Willow.

The both of them stared at each other as Tara then placed both hands on Willow's cheeks. "I love you. I'm not leaving you, Willow. I'm never leaving you." Willow closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Tara wiped the tears away, and then leaned forward, while Willow closed her eyes. Tara kissed one of the scars. She continued on kissing gently along Willow's skin as she peeled off the lower part of her uniform.

The both of them kissed each other with both hands roving over each other's bodies.

It wasn't long before the both of them were back on the bed, Tara having had her clothes peeled off by Willow. As Tara lay on top of Willow, the both of them stared at each other for a few seconds before the blonde witch whispered, "I'm yours, Willow. Always."

Willow had a smile on her face before she whispered, "always."

Tara leaned down and kissed Willow on her lips. It wouldn't be long before the bed creaked as Willow writhed underneath the body of her girlfriend. Sounds from the two young women would continue throughout the night; the both of them enjoying themselves with abandon.

"We have a lot to catch up on," Tara whispered after she was flipped over by Willow sometime later. The former redhead was now on top with a devilish grin on her face. She then leaned down and kissed Tara. It would be four in the morning when the two of them; two exhausted women with the sheets crumbled beneath them while sweat glistened on their bodies, went to sleep.

Their connection to each other stronger than ever before. 

**Glory's Apartment, twenty minutes later.**

The blonde-haired woman known as Glory was looking out her window while one of her minions remained kissing her feet. She looked out the window at the city below and remembered when the underling, the very one kissing her feet, arrived in a panic several minutes ago.

He told her about a figure dressed in black who singlehandedly took out four of her servants. Thus, preventing Glory from getting her food. Glory was annoyed at Dreg, the minion who returned empty handed. She punched him clear across the room in anger before ordering the others to get her something to eat.

And they did.

The homeless man lay mumbling incoherently to her left while Glory stared out the window. She listened to Dreg, after he got up to his feet following her punch, as he spoke about the figure in black. And a smile appeared on her face while she stared past her own reflection, "a superhero here. So interesting. Maybe she knows where my Key is located."

TBC.


	50. Chapter 50

**The Rosenberg Residence, 0900 hours.**

It was slow. Very slow.

That's the rate at which Willow's heart was beating as she lay sleeping next to Tara, their bodies intertwined with each other while their clothes, blankets, and even pillows were scattered on the carpeted floor. The bodies of the two young women were lying on the linen covered bed, while sunlight gently streamed through a small gap between the curtains. The light landed on Willow's bare back highlighting the scars from her torture in hell. The light warmed Willow's skin and as a result, she tightened her hold on Tara and moaned, "I hate the morning."

The two of them were face to face as Willow scrunched her face, and then she mentally pulled the curtains closer towards each other until there was no light to shine through. With the warmth no longer hitting her bare back, and the cool air in in the room brushing against her skin, a smile appeared on Willow's face. She opened her groggy eyes slightly and took in Tara's sleeping face through a haze that seemed to cover her sight. Willow was still sleepy, and she felt exhausted, but she still took in Tara's facial features and the smell of Tara's hair as it lay on the linen. Willow pulled Tara, who stirred slightly, closer while taking in Tara's scent once again to make sure she wasn't having a dream.

"Ummmm." Tara moaned as her arm draped around Willow's waist. It was that sound escaping Tara's lips that reassured Willow she wasn't in a dream. And the former redhead felt as if there was a heavy weight lifting off her shoulders. Ever since coming back from Acathla's Hell, she was afraid. Her fear from her torture in hell, her fear that she would never fit in again into a life in Sunnydale, and her fear that she wouldn't be accepted by Tara.

Over time, those thoughts started to lift from Willow's very soul.

And now Willow had someone she loved lying next to her… someone who the former redhead knew would be by her side. In addition, Willow had her friends who slowly helped her come back to something resembling a normal life- even though her old self was gone. Even so, Willow could still feel a sliver of darkness within her. A darkness she felt last night when she and Tara were panting, fighting for breath as they kissed last night after she returned from talking to Giles about the Key.

Back in the present time, Willow stared at the sleeping Tara while remembering the previous night when Tara hovered over the former redhead. Willow could remember the a burning sensation on her chest as Tara's kisses moved from Willow's lips. Lying on the bed next to Tara, Willow closed her eyes and remembered the night they spent together, she remembered her own moans of pleasure as she grabbed the bed with both hands while Tara had her way with her. Willow's memories flashed in her minds eye of Tara crawling back up her body and the both of them kissing before Willow flipped Tara over.

It was her turn. She felt as if she was in a daze from the scent of their sweat covered bodies; one on top of another's and the both of them gave each other pleasure. Willow felt her worries about how Tara would see her melt away as the former pulled her head back and arched her back as they ground against each other.

And in the end, once the scent of sex filled the room, the two women collapsed on the bed side by side. Their bodies were covered in sweat as they held onto each other while whispering sweet nothings. The cool air brushed against their skin, causing each to shiver slightly. It was mitigated by the two of them holding on to each other; the contact between their bodies providing warmth as they slowly closed their eyes and went to sleep.

And now, Willow opened her eyes to see Tara. To see the woman she loved. As she stared at Tara's sleeping face, Willow took he left hand and ran into through Tara's soft blonde hair. The former redhead had a smile on her face before she looked down Tara's nude body and lay her eyes on her hand. Willow reached down and gently lifted Tara's hand off her waist while looking back up at the witch, 'sorry, sweetie.' Once the hand was on the space between them, Willow rolled to one side and looked up at the ceiling; and her eyes went wide open.

'No,' Willow thought as the brand on her chest started to burn. She looked down at her chest and saw the brand starting to become white hot as what felt like pi pricks of fire permeated her body. She closed her eyes and arched her back as she clenched her jaw… her mind was telling her to scream in pain from her body starting to burn. Willow opened her eyes and turned her head to stare at Tara who stared to melt away. Willow's eyes started to water as she watched Tara open her eyes in terror before screaming in pain as she spontaneously combusted.

"Tara!" yelled Willow as she tried to move her body, but she couldn't. Willow looked down and saw that her arms and legs were shackled to a wooden table. She screamed out loud in pain as fire-like heat emanated throughout her body from the brand on her chest. "Tara!" screamed Willow, "help me!" Willow tried to lift her arms and legs, but she was stopped thanks to the shackles that locked them down to the table. Willow then tried to use her telekinesis, but she found that she didn't have any access.

Willow then saw her flower wallpaper replaced by stone walls that were covered in blood. Everything about her surroundings changed, even the smell which now had the distinct odour of iron; dried blood. "No… no… no…" whispered Willow as she shook her head from side to side while closing her eyes. She then heard growls and screams in the distance… she heard the gnashing of teeth and the tearing of flesh plus the sound of breathing. Heavy breathing from her left side into her ear.

"Noooo!" Willow heard a scream in the distance beyond a wooden door to her left. It was a woman's scream. She didn't recognize the voice, but the scream sent shivers up and down her spine. But her eyes remained shut hoping that this was just a dream… that it was simply in her mind and that when she opened her eyes… it would be gone and she would find herself next to Tara once again.

However, she opened her eyes and found herself in the blood covered room once again. She then felt a tongue brush against her ear while sharp claws brushed against her chest. Willow was panting as she moved her head to the left, only to find nothing there. But she felt the claws brushing in her chest. Willow strained to look down her body and her eyes widened at the impressions against her skin as the claws travelled down her chest.

"Ah… ah… ah!" she screamed in pain as the claws pressed down while travelling down her body. The claws deep into her flesh, stopping at her navel. The pain blinded her as she closed her eyes before opening them once again and releasing a bloodcurdling scream as she felt her skin tearing apart when the invisible claws gripped her insides and tore them out while another invisible clawed hand pressed down on her head, "Help me!" Willow felt the palm of the invisible hand over her eyes as the fingers wrapped around the top half of her face. She continued to scream for help until her voice was hoarse.

But there was no help.

Willow felt blood rising up her throat. The blood then travelled up her mouth and down the sides of her open mouth. Tears flowed down the sides of her eyes as the stench of iron permeated her nostrils. And then there was a sudden and sickening crack… and her vision went dark.

Willow's neck was broken, and her head was then twisted and torn off while blood poured down onto the floor from her gutted abdominal area and from the tear at the base of her neck. The invisible demon that had been holding her head dropped it onto the blood stained floor and roared. There were then 'thump' sounds as the demon strode away into the darkness at a corner of the room. Suddenly, Willow's body reformed- the former redhead screaming in pain as she remained shackled to the table. Willow felt the pain from where she was gutted, and from where her head was torn off. Willow closed her eyes and sobbed as she remembered those same sensations, the pain coming back a hundredfold. All thanks to the brand on her shoulder.

"Did you really think you escaped me, It?" asked a familiar voice as Willow turned her head to the left. Through tear covered eyes she started sobbing heavily when she saw the familiar red eyes looking back at her. Borzan's eyes. "Open your eyes! Open your eyes or I rip them out of your skull!" Willow felt fingers grasping to her throat like a metal vice; the fingers closed in as she opened her eyes. Borzan was standing over her, his face filled with rage and hate. His fingers digging into Willow's flesh while growling, "what do you think that brand is on your chest? Not only does it signify you as one of Acathla's jailors, it's also meant to torture you if you ever achieve happiness. If you ever believe you are loved, or experience love."

Willow had her eyes opened wide at Borzan's admission. The demon let go of Willow and then put his hands into his pockets and stared with wild eyes at the former redhead. "You're trapped in y our own mind with me for all eternity.. well… until you die anyway."

"No…" Willow whispered.

"You will die and be resurrected; the cycle will repeat endlessly. I will have all matter of demons kill you… eat you… grind you to dust. Ummm… name it? I'll make sure it gets done. Your mind will feel the pain of you dying and resurrecting, my It."

"Ta… Tara and.. and Buffy.. they.. they…"

"Will do nothing," said a familiar voice. Willow turned her head to the left and narrowed her eyes as a figure walked out of the darkness. Willow's eyes went wide open as a chill went up her spine at the sight of the woman approaching her. "You will do nothing." It was her. Willow was looking at herself; one whose eyes and hair were as black as night. She stared at her doppelganger's black lips, black fingernails, and the black veins that ran from her hands to her shoulders and the rest of her body.

"You feel it, don't you, my It?" asked Borzan as he stood over Willow's shackled body while the doppelganger walked up to Borzan and stood next to him. Borzan turned his head to look at the doppelganger Willow in her black bikini with her chest brand glowing fiery red, and he licked his lips. Borzan then turned back to the shackled Willow and said, "this is the dark part of yourself. The part that everything you do, everything that anyone has been doing to help you, could never take away. It's the part that's contained in the brand… the part of yourself that enjoyed the torture in Hell." HE then leaned and whispered in Willow's ear, "your darkness tastes so good, my It. When you are locked away? She will take over. Your darkness will take over."

Borzan then leaned back while grinning at the shackled Willow.

"I whispered in your ear," the dark Willow hissed as she walked slowly around the table, her fingers brushing against Willow's bare skin while glaring down at her. Willow could feel her doppelganger's cold touch which raised goosebumps all over her body, "when you were getting such joy with Tara, I was whispering in your ear."

"No," Willow whispered shaking her head as she stared at her doppelganger.

"Shhhhh," Dark Willow said as she stopped at the edge of the table and grabbed a hold of each of Willow's feet with her hands. Dark Willow looked up Willow's body and smiled an evil smile. Willow screamed in pain when her feet were violently twisted at the ankle… the joints were torn as Dark Willow laughed. She then let go of Willow's feet which were at an unusual angle and then continued her walk around the table as Willow screamed, "I was the one whispering at you to kill Tara. Do you remember, little girl?"

"No," Willow yelled out loud.

"Or maybe it was because of the high you were getting as she…." Dark Willow stopped as she wrapped her hand around Willow's throat and then turned her head. She looked down Willow's body to her crotch and then back at Willow's terrified eyes. Dark Willow tilted her head and then stuck her tongue out, making wriggling motions before speaking and nodding down Willow's body, "you know." Dark Willow let go of Willow and stood up straight while Borzan walked up to her in his suit and red tie, draping an arm around her waist.

He then turned to stare at Willow, "this was supposed to be you, It."

"I am his It," Dark Willow laughed before leaning down and whispering into Willow's ears, "I am his It in so many ways."

"You thought you could get away from me, It?" Borzan said as he stared at the shackled Willow while the Dark version walked backwards until she was just behind Borzan, "the brand on your chest makes sure you are never content, never happy, never… never free. Like the curse with the stupid Vampire who will lose his soul after one night of pure happiness, this brand was designed so that should you ever gain any measure of true happiness, the darkness in your soul will coalesce and trap you in your own mind. And unless my physical self undoes the curse? Your body will wither and die while you remain trapped in your mind. What would seem like hours will be days, days will be weeks, weeks will be years, and the darkness in you will destroy all you are."

"I will have your body," the darkness said as Willow closed her eyes and screamed while her heart raced. "And then?" the doppelganger sneered. Willow panted as she turned her head to stare at her dark doppelganger, "and then I will torture everyone you know for daring to make me happy. I will show them everything I could have been in hell."

"No!" yelled Willow at the doppelganger before turned her head back up to the ceiling and calling out for her love, "Tara!"

 **The Rosenberg Residence, 0901 hours.**

Tara snapped her eyes open when she felt a darkness in the room she shared with Willow. The darkness was heavily. Tara felt as if she was being pressed down into the bed. She closed her eyes as she whispered, casting a protective spell around herself and Willow; and then breathed a sigh of relief when the feeling of having darkness crushing down on her vanished.

At least temporarily. Tara could feel the heavy weight trying to break through her protective barriers. She quickly turned around, the bed creaking as she shifted her nude body towards Willow… and then her eyes opened wide. The former redhead had her hair painted jet black while her body was pale, and the brand on her chest was glowing red.

"Will?" Tara asked as she got on her knees and placed her hands-on Willow's arm while the latter's body lay on its side. Tara rolled Willow to her back while feeling a dark force emanating from the brand on the chest. "Willow, can you hear me?" Tara said as she straddled Willow and placed her hands on the dark haired young woman's cheeks, "Willow, Baby? Please, I need you to wake up for me, I…."

And then Tara saw it. Willow's aura flaring wildly as darkness began taking over. Darkness emanating from the brand on her chest.

"Willow!" yelled Tara leaning towards Willow, "goddess of the light, please…." Before she could finish what she wanted to say, Tara was flung back through the air and off the bed. She hit the doors to the closet with a thud, and then fell onto the floor. As she tried to slowly get up as the protection spell started to fail, Tara felt the same dark force from earlier press down on her. The air started to get heavy as Tara moved on all fours towards the end of the bed, and then she pulled herself up to her feet.

Finding it hard to breathe, Tara looked at Willow lying unconscious as her veins started to become black in colour. Not knowing what to do, Tara stumbled to the door that led to the hallway outside, and opened it. Tara then turned and looked at Willow who snapped her head towards her direction. Tara felt a chill up and down her spine when Willow opened her eyes… her jet black eyes and growled in a deep voice, "do what you want, Witch. I am taking control, and you will know the darkness I am capable off. Get them all!"

Tara suddenly felt a violent force push her out the room and slam her against the hallway wall. The door slammed shut as Tara hit the floor groaning in pain. The oppressive feeling was finally gone, and Tara felt as if she could breathe again. Tara slowly got to her feet while her left hand was rubbing her right shoulder, the very same shoulder that impacted the wall. Limping towards the stairs as her thoughts turned to Willow, Tara rushed as fast as she could while cognizant in the fact that she had nothing covering her.

But that didn't matter as she picked up the phone in the living room.

"Althanea," Tara said in a terrified voice when she remembered the darkness she saw creeping into Willow's bright aura when her eyes went black, "Althanea, I need you. Please. It's Willow… something's happened. Please help!"

TBC.


	51. Chapter 51

**The Rosenberg Residence, a few seconds later.**

Tara was standing in the nude as she put the phone back down onto its cradle after talking to Althanea. She then walked past the table on weakened knees and put a hand on the wall separating the living room from the foyer, to support herself. She was adjacent from the foot of the staircase that led up to the second floor. Tara felt a shudder as a cool breeze brushed against her skin. She felt her skin erupt in goose bumps as she pushed herself off the wall and cautiously walked on until she stopped at the foot of the stairs- the very same stairs from where she felt a cool and gentle breeze coming down to brush against her skin.

It didn't feel like any normal breeze. Tara felt as if there were hundreds of fingers caressing her body, and that feeling sent a chilling sense of fear through her entire body. Her teeth chattered as she looked up at the top of the stairs while taking a step back. She felt the breeze catch her hair as it gently fluttered, but she could also feel something dark and evil.

And it was coming down from the top of the stairs. Tara nothing there at the top, but she felt something horribly dark standing there. She felt whatever it was glaring down at her with rage and hate.

Tara felt another chill go up to her spine as she crossed her arms over her chest in a bid to get some warmth around her body. Tara covered her breasts as she stepped back further away from the stairs and then rushed to the dining room, and then to the kitchen before placing her hand onto the basement door. She put her hand on the knob and turned it over, unlocking the door with a click. She swung it open and felt a cool breeze rush out of the darkness in front of her. Tara breathed out at the feeling of the freezing cold breeze as thousands of cold fingers seemed to caress her arms, her face, her legs, her abdomen, and her chest. She gasped as she took another step back before she exhaled. She could see her breath condense in the air.

"Be brave," Tara whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and imagined putting a barrier around her body. And once she had, the feeling of the fingers brushing her skin slowly vanished. She still felt the cool of the breeze, but the sensation of being touched by invisible hands was gone. Tara opened her eyes and then took several steps towards the entrance to the basement. She reached to the inside wall while looking at the darkened stairs that led down to the basement.

Tara was feeling for the switch that would turn on the light above the stairs and in the basement. Flipping the switch to the 'on' position, Tara was breathing hard while her eyes widened in stunned silence. The lights did turn on, illuminating the stairs and the area at the bottom of the stairs. The stairs that led to the basement where there were some clean clothes- given that she had put their laundry into the dryer last night before going to sleep.

But now, Tara stood still at the top of the stairs, her body trembling as she stared at the figure standing at the foot of the stairs, looking up at her with a sneer. It was Willow. Tara felt a darkness she had never felt before emanating from the figure she knew was pretending to be Willow as she covered her mouth with one hand while her other arm continued to cover her breasts. She felt evil from the figure below- a figure that had black eyes, black hair, black veins covering her body, the brand that signified her as Acathla's Jailor glowing red on her chest, her body barely covered with a black bikini… and the sneer. The Willow standing at the foot of the stairs had a sneer that was evil… it made Tara's blood freeze while her legs trembled.

Tara felt as if she was a character in a horror movie- one of the characters who would soon die because they encountered the antagonist. Tara felt that she would die if she stepped into the basement… she felt a heavy weight on her shoulders as she stepped back into the kitchen while her heart raced. Tara felt fear. A fear that her Willow would kill her.

And the Willow at the bottom of the stairs tilted her head as Tara grabbed the door to the basement, and was about to close it shut. However, Tara stopped when she was about to slam the door shut… she was afraid. She was very, very afraid. But at the same time, there was a part of her that told her to not give in to her fear. Tara breathed out and saw the air condense around her breath as Willow continued to stare at her from the bottom of the stairs.

"This isn't Willow," Tara closed her eyes and whispered to herself, "not Willow, not Willow, not Willow."

And then Tara heard a loud groan. A croaking groan. She opened her eyes and saw Willow open her lips into an 'O' shape. The groan was coming from her as the house started to shake. Tara grabbed the door while sensing evil flowing around the entire house. It was flowing out from the figure in the basement, and from the second floor down the stairs to the main floor. Tara could feel it flowing towards her; brushing against her skin, making her skin cold and her blood freeze. She felt herself shivering as her fear started to rise.

Tara continued to stare at Willow… she started to feel a dark energy surrounding her, trying to break into her mind. Tara wanted to run away, she wanted to give into the fear and run while the groan from the figure below started to get louder until it was a roar.

Tara put her hands over her ears as she crumbled onto her knees. The roar was so loud that Tara felt as if it was trying to vibrate her very soul. She opened her eyes and stared at Willow who placed her feet on the first step. She then started to walk up the stairs towards her while continuing to roar. Tara was afraid… the fear threatened to take her over. She wanted to run… she wanted to get away from this evil while at the same time she was telling herself that this 'thing' wasn't Willow.

But she wanted to run.

She watched as 'Willow' took another step up towards her.

And Tara wanted to run.

She wanted to get out of there screaming for her life. It would be so easy. And then she remembered it was Willow who saved her life from the succubus, it was Willow who saved her life from the demons in the white rags when they met for the very first time. Tara gripped the edge of the door as fear started to take over her body, while she pulled herself back up to her trembling feet.

She still wanted to run.

And Willow was already halfway up the stairs. However, her footsteps sounding far away to Tara as she stared at the being who took on the form of her girlfriend.

It would be so easy to run away, Tara thought to herself.

"But I've run away too many times," she whispered as she stared at 'Willow' who stopped and tilted her head while still on the stairs. Tara didn't want to run anymore. She ran from home… from her abusive father, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She ran from them all. She never stayed to fight them… she never stood up for herself by telling her family that she wasn't a demon, that her magic was a gift from her mother… a gift from the women on her mother's side of her family. Tara realized that she never stood up for herself when she needed to the most.

She needed to stand for herself here and now.

But she still wanted to run. There was a part of her screaming to run out the door and never come back.

The fear was threatening to take over. She could feel dark energy swirling around her from Willow… and it felt cold. Freezing cold. She could feel the finger pushing against the protective barrier against her body… she could feel the fingers straining to brush her skin.

"You are not Willow!" yelled Tara as her hair started to flutter from a breeze while staring at 'Willow', "you are not her! I am not afraid of you, and…" Tara gasped for air when the 'Willow' smiled before releasing a roar that brought forth a gust of cold air that pushed back Tara from the door. She stumbled back and hit the kitchen counter behind her with her bare back. She looked up and saw that 'Willow' was almost at the door as every part of her senses and body were itching to run away.

To get as far as possible from Willow. From Sunnydale. The cold wind continued to push her back even after Willow closed her lips and was now smiling. But Tara, against all her senses, pushed on towards Willow.

"You are not her!" she exclaimed glaring at the dark-haired woman, "You will never be her. She…"

"I am already here, Tara," 'Willow' said in a tone that chilled Tara to the bone, "feel that? The fear telling your body to run?"

"I'm still here," Tara panted as she clenched her fists before yelling out in rage at her own weaknesses. "I'm still here!"

"For how long?" 'Willow' said, a tinge of hate in her voice, "the Willow you knew? The one you love? Well, she's gone. She's going to be gone actually. And there's nothing you can do."

"You…."

"Shhhhh," 'Willow' said placing a finger to her own lips as she walked through the door and stopped, all the while her eyes were fixed on Tara, "there really is nothing you can do. Nothing anyone can do. I am coming, Tara. I am coming to show all of you what Hell really is. I will open the mouth of Hell, and bring forth the pits to this world. And all for Acathla. I am his Jailer and you will be the first on my rack!" And Willow laughed before she vanished. Along with her, the cold wind and the sense Tara felt of dark energy surrounded her lifted. She felt the warmth on her body as she stood in place and thought about what 'Willow' said. Shaking her head, Tara rushed down the stairs to the basement and put on some clean clothes. She then ran back up to the kitchen after putting on a shirt and jeans and headed for the stairs leading to the second floor. Rushing up the stairs while her heart was still beating, Tara turned left and ran to the room she shared with Willow.

Stopping at the door, Tara encountered the feeling of terror once again. She felt evil emanating from the other side of the door, from the room she shared with Willow. She took in a deep breath and then exhaled, only to be her breath condensing in the air once again. Tara looked around for the 'Willow' she saw earlier in the basement- but there was no sign of that version of her lover. She turned back to the door and placed a hand on the door knob, and then pulled it back with a hiss.

It was hot. Very hot.

Tara mumbled a spell that turned the knob, and she then pushed the warm wooden door open. She looked in at the bed and saw Willow lying on her back. Her eyes were closed shut, her bare chest was still moving up and down, but her aura was being corrupted. Tara could see that the darkness emanating from the brand on Willow's chest had taken over half of her aura. And it continued to grow. Tara guessed that once Willow's aura was covered in darkness, then the being she saw in the basement- the evil part of Willow born in Hell would take over.

Tara tried to step into the room while the veins on Willow's shoulders, neck, and her torso were turning black. She wanted to do anything she could to stop the spread of the darkness taking over Willow, but Tara was pushed back against the wall. It was as if she hit an invisible barrier, and was then pushed back violently.

And as the door slammed shut on its own; Tara heard laughter. Willow's laughter. Tara looked down the hallway and saw no-one there. She turned back to the door while crossing her arms over her body to keep herself warm as a gust of cold air brushed past her.

"I'm not running, Willow," Tara whispered at the door as she waited for Althanea, "I'm right here. We'll help you. I'll help you. You're not alone."

 **The Summer Residence at that same time.**

It was about nine in the morning by the time Dawn snapped her eyes open. She was lying on her side and facing the window, the streams of sunlight coming through the gap in her curtains, landing on the left side of her head lying on the pastel colored pillow. She closed her eyes again and then opened them before rapidly blinking to get the cobwebs out of her eyes.

Yawning as she turned around, now facing the ceiling while her back lay flat on the bed, Dawn raised her arms over her head and stretched her body. She felt a tingling sensation go through as she yawned once again before slowly sitting up and looking around her room. Sighing as she turned on the bed, her feet now dangling on the floor, the young girl saw most of her pastel colored blanket crumpled on the floor while a smaller part of it remained on the bed.

Dawn then sighed and looked up at her posters and the stuffed animals around her room through groggy eyes. As she hopped off, Dawn heard footsteps rushing past her door, and then were other footsteps heading for her door.

"Dawnie," Joyce said as she opened the door slightly and peeked her head in to look in at Dawn in her pajama's. "come on, sweetie. Breakfast's ready." Dawn yawned again and nodded her head. The door then closed shut while Dawn sighed again and walked over to her mirror. She looked at her own reflection and then shook her head; she dreaded this day. She didn't know why, but she dreaded the day.

Dawn then walked over to her closet and opened the doors, took out a change of clothes, and then gathered them in her arms before opening the door to her room. While she was heading to the washroom to freshen up, Buffy was already in the kitchen while Faith, who was wearing a simple tank top and shorts shuffled out of the basement after walking up the stairs and mumbled good morning at Buffy.

"Hey!" Buffy yelled before laughing at Faith rubbing her forehead and shuffling towards the coffee pot. As for the blonde Slayer, she rushed over to the fridge and took out some milk and juice, to put get to the stack of pancakes, piles of bacon, and some eggs. In the meantime, Joyce walked into the kitchen and pleasantly said, "good morning" to Faith. The dark-haired Slayer grunted a good morning before she took a sip of the black liquid that was just poured into a cup.

"Oooooooh," Faith groaned as she leaned back against the counter, the mug in her hands, while she closed her eyes. She felt the warm liquid travel down her throat, and as it did, it seemed to warm up her entire body. Fait then opened her eyes and tilted her head at Buffy and Joyce looked back at her questioningly at the groan she made. "This is good coffee," Faith said pointing a finger at the cup before pushing herself off the edge of the counter near the sink. She walked towards the island and sat next to Buffy who was in a red blouse and jeans with her hair in a ponytail- ready to take on the day.

"What time did you sleep, Faith," Buffy mumbled as Faith glared at her while reaching out for a pancake. The dark-haired slayer then looked away and yawned again while Buffy dropped three pancakes on her own plate and then reached out for the bacon. At the same time, Buffy was glancing at Faith who reached out for the Orange juice and then poured it into a cup without saying a word. Buffy looked back at the eggs as she leaned over to the dish of the bright yellow food, and then scooped some up into her spoon. At that same time, Joyce sat down across from her.

But Faith still hadn't said a word as she reached for the pancakes.

"Faith?" Buffy called out again glancing and nudging her fellow Slayer with her elbow.

"I heard you," Faith mumbled. She cut a pancake into half, and then placed some pieces of bacon and some scrambled eggs into the half from rolling it with her hands. "Just tired," Faith said before she took a bite of the pancake roll before taking a deep breath. She then put the roll down on the plate and glanced over at Buffy, and then at Joyce, and back to Buffy again, "had a bad dream last night."

"What about?" Joyce asked as she took some pancakes just as Dawn skipped into the room with a smile on her face. Faith smiled at the young girl as she sat up straight while Dawn rushed around the island and hugged Joyce while kissing her cheek. Dawn then rushed over to the smiling Faith and hugged her tight before rushing back to her seat across from Buffy who stared at Dawn with eyes wide open.

"Hey," Buffy whined when she didn't get a hug, "what am I? Spoilt milk?"

Dawn just simply stuck her tongue out at Buffy while Joyce poured the young girl some orange juice, and then placed some pancakes, bacon, and eggs on her plate. Buffy narrowed her eyes at her grinning sister while Faith chuckled as Dawn took a bite. Shaking her head after the interference from her sister, Buffy turned her head and stared at Faith while asking what it was she wanted to say.

"You know, before we were so cruelly interrupted," Buffy said as she glanced at Dawn who swallowed her food and the stuck her tongue out once again. Buffy stuck her tongue out at Dawn before turning back to Faith who was about to open her mouth to speak. However, as the dark-haired Slayer said she had a bad dream, the phone started to ring.

"It was Joyce who rushed to pick up the phone in the kitchen and then lifted it to her ear. She listened while the others looked on, her face etched with worry.

"Mom?" Buffy asked as Joyce, in a very worried voice, told whoever was on the other line that she would let Buffy and Faith know. Buffy then turned to a concerned Faith, who looked back at her and then the both of them- Dawn too, turned to Joyce who put the phone back in its cradle. She turned around and said, "that was Althanea, something's happened to Willow."

"What?" Dawn asked with concern as Buffy and Faith got off their seats.

"Mom? What happened?" Buffy asked as she imagined the worst thing that could possibly happen to Willow; the return of Borzan. But that was impossible, or so Buffy thought as she and Faith rounded the island and strode to Joyce, "what happened to Willow?"

"Tara called, she sounded panicked," Joyce said, "you and Faith head out to Willow's place and…"

"She'll need all of us," Dawn countered.

"We don't know if it's an attack on her, Dawn," Joyce said while thinking that there was no way she was sending Dawn to a situation where no one was sure what was happening. She then turned to Buffy and Faith, "Faith, take the car keys. You and Buffy should go to Willow's house and…."

"Hey, I can drive," Buffy whined in disbelief.

"You don't know how to drive, B," Faith said before sticking her tongue out at the blonde. Buffy then sighed before she and Faith rushed off. And all Dawn and Joyce could do was watch them head out the door.

 **Glory's Apartment, now.**

Glory felt something cold brush against her skin as she lay on her bed with boxes, both unopened and opened, of shoes all around her. She shot straight up and stared at her arms while her minions, who had been in the room as well, kneeled down and hung their head while showering her with compliments. But Glory ignored them and turned her head to look out the window, past the babbling man and woman lying on the floor.

She then twisted her body and hopped off the bed while feeling a dark energy surrounding her. Glory heard one of her deformed minions call out to her asking if they could help with anything. But Glory ignored them. For the first time in her imprisoned life, she was nervous.

The energy she felt was from hell… it didn't feel like it was from her hell dimension, but it felt close enough. It was something she knew of and wondered if one of the demons that locked her into this part-human body was on Earth to finish the job. But she felt something else, the power leaking out into the atmosphere was weak. She could feel it slowly getting stronger though. Which meant that if she acted now, then whatever was putting out this much power could be destroyed.

And then she could continue the search for the Key without any worry.

"Great Glorificus, how may we…."

"We're going on a hunt," Glory smiled as she pinpointed the area the feeling that permeated her was coming from. She then turned around and glared at her minions, "it's possible that one of my jailers have come. And it's time for some well-deserved payback."

TBC.


	52. Chapter 52

**The Czech Republic, few months ago.**

The long haired brunette knew that the monks couldn't do it. They didn't have the time to create a body advanced enough to hold the Key. She looked to her left as the doors to the chamber bent inwards from a thud; a punch that the creature behind the doors delivered onto the thick wood.

"What do you think you are doing?" a familiar female voice said from behind. The brunette, with hair down to the back of her waist, and wearing a silver and cream dress, turned and stared at the redhaired woman. The brunette then smiled before she spoke as time all around them slowed to a crawl. Their conversation happening in the space between a single heartbeat of the monks sitting in a circle, and the beast trying to get into the room.

"There is no choice, mother," the woman in the cream and silver dress said before she looked over her shoulders at the circle of monks who had their arms outstretched in front of them while humming a prayer. She then turned back to the redhead who was shaking her head, "they do not know an advanced, evolved body is needed to hold the vast power that is the Matrix. Any other body would crumble under that power and the Beast would have the means to go home. And in doing so, destroy this entire world."

"It does not have to be you," the redhead said softly as she stepped forward and placed her hands on the brunette's cheeks, "I…."

"Watch over me, mother," the brunette said, "watch over us. Watch over the friends and family I have yet to make."

"Let me do this," the redhead said shaking her head, "not you."

"In all the possible futures, it is me," the brunette said, "it is me. It is I who will either die or be saved. And I believe I will be saved. Ath… I mean Willow, is the one who will save me. In all the visions I have had with her having returned from Hell, she is the one who saves me."

"There are other futures where you are not saved too," the woman said as tears welled in her eyes.

"I have faith that she will save me," the brunette repeated with conviction in her voice before she tilted her head and smiled at the brown eyed and redhaired woman, "I know you will be by my side, mother. You will see, she will save me."

The redhead had tears trail down her cheeks as she nodded her head.

"You know there is a vast darkness locked away in the brand on Willow's chest," the redhead said while wiping her tears, "when she experiences true happiness, it will crack. It will release a danger that would end the world even if the Matrix is not activated."

"I have seen those futures as well," the brunette said, "which is why I was going to locked away a sample of my ascended powers. I would have it activate only in the event that the darkness from the brand escapes and take her over."

"A failsafe," the redhead whispered.

The brunette then nodded her head with pursed lips.

"I will lock it away into the depths of your very being, my dear Hera," the redhead said as she looked into the brunette's eyes while holding both sides of her cheeks, "the rest of your powers, your memories, your immortality. It will be waiting for you when you pass, and ascend again."

Hera nodded her head as tears formed in her eyes.

"I will be waiting as well," the redhead said with a cracked voice.

"Leave me with one thought," Hera whispered as her body glowed before her body started to break apart, "A name. A name that I would imprint onto the Monks. A name that they would give me."

The redhead nodded her head as two balls of brilliant white light formed in her hands. One was as large as a basketball, and that shot up into the air before vanishing into planes of pure energy and thought; Hera's powers, memories, and immortality waiting in perpetuity. And the other ball was the size of a golf ball, a pulsing white ball of light that the redhead brought close to her eyes. She mentally connected with what remained of her youngest daughter, and said her final goodbyes.

"I will wait for the both of you, Dawn." The pulsing ball shot out from the redhead's hand and into the cloud of green mist that rose in the middle of the circle of monks. The redhead saw a body formed just before a flash of white light formed and the body vanished.

"Good luck," the redhead whispered sadly before vanishing, just as the wooden door was smashed to smithereens.

"Where is my Key, you little meat bags!" said the wild-eyed woman in a red dress as the monks scattered away in fear.

 **The Rosenberg Residence, Now.**

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH," Willow screamed out loud as her body convulsed while it was tied down to a metallic rack. She could feel the cool of the rack against her warm body as she tried to free her wrists from the chains that tied her down. She tried to move her tied down feet as well, but she was unsuccessful. Through eyes that were partly closed shut as she screamed out loud.. her voice reverberating throughout the stone structure that surrounded her, Willow caught a glimpse of Borzan as he stood next to a large cart of syringes, chemicals, and razor sharp implements. She glimpsed the demon squeezing the heart he tore out of Willow's body with an arm that was now covered in blood.

Willow remembered everything going dark, and then she was awake again. The excruciating pain of her death magnified upon her resurrection thanks to the brand on her chest and shoulder working in unison. She didn't know how long it had been for her trapped in her own mind; but she still fought to keep herself sane… to keep her humanity intact as she endured the pain being forced on her.

"I… I've gone… gone through this… this… be.. before," Willow panted out as she glared at Borzan who had a sneer on his face before he took the heart in his hand and then brought it up to his lips. Willow gritted her teeth from the pain that was going through her body while watching Borzan bite down in the heart with a sickening sound. He then ripped off a large chunk of the heart before throwing the rest into a pile of hearts, body parts, and assorted organs that lay in a corner of the room.

'Yes, you have gone through this before," Borzan mumbled while still chewing on the muscle he bit off. He then walked up to Willow, his shoes making 'squelching' sounds as he stepped into the mess of blood and guts on the hard floor. He then reached out with his bloodied hand once only a few inches away and wiped the blood on Willow's already bloodied body. The stench permeated Willow's nostrils and she did everything possible to keep down the lump in her throat.

There was no way she would be giving Borzan the satisfaction of seeing her throw-up.

Borzan then leaned forward as he grabbed the side of her neck. He brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "remember what happened to you? Remember the animal you became, My It?" Willow shuddered involuntarily as she remembered the hundreds of years she spent with her mind shattered. But she kept her fear of becoming that same person down… at least she tried to keep it down.

But Borzan sensed it.

"I smell your fear because I'm in your mind, my It," Borzan whispered before he swiftly bit down and then ripped off Willow's ear. The white-haired young woman gave off another scream of pain as Borzan stepped back with Willow's bloody ear in his mouth. Willow saw him spit out the ear as her scream subsided. It was then that he walked over to the cart and picked up a syringe filled with a purple goo. He then turned and smiled as Willow had her eyes wide open while shaking her head.

She remembered this moment when it happened hundreds of years ago, from her perspective. After her attempted escape from hell, this goo was the second punishment Borzan used on her – the first being that she was torn apart in the area where she had seen the portal to the real world. Willow shook her head while her heart raced. Her body was still In pain, especially the right side of her head, but she still continued to try and shake loose.

"No…" Willow begged as Borzan walked towards her. "This is just my mind… just my mind. I… I'm in control…. Control…. I… I…"

"You have nothing," Borzan growled as he shoved the six-inch needle into her chest. Willow opened her eyes wide at the sting of the needle going through her skin and flesh, and then into her heart. "Now become my animal!" Borzan pushed the syringe down, and the purple goo entered Willow's heart which pumped the thick liquid throughout her system. Borzan smiled, looked up at Willow's terrified expression, and then laughed when she released a howl of pain so loud that it shook the stone in the walls.

Willow could feel her body burning, it was as if fire was running through her veins. Her howls of pain meant that she didn't feel Borzan placing his hand on the brand on her chest. She didn't see the brand glow red… all Willow felt was her pain increase.

It felt like years. Hundreds upon hundreds upon thousands of years of torture and pain. Willow felt herself die and resurrect, die and resurrect… the cycle repeating itself. But she fought to keep her memories of Buffy, Dawn, Faith, Anya, Xander, Giles, and her friends. She fought to keep the memory of Tara… her Tara. When she started to lose her mind, Willow thought of Tara and she stayed in control.

"Looks like it'll take a little longer to break you, It," Borzan said as he stood in front of her, still in his suit, without a look of worry on his face as Willow's body hung limply on the bloodied and warm rack. He then snapped his fingers and their surroundings changed. Willow looked around as the stone walls around her vanished, only to be replaced by an open desert under a red hued sky. She could feel the warm breeze brush against her body, followed by taking in a breath full of fresh air. Willow took in another deep breath before looking around once against. There were some dried trees around her, the ground was rocky and hard while there were several steam geysers burst out around her.

Willow then turned to Borzan who snapped his fingers. Willow felt herself fall to the hard ground before landing on her back. She released a yelp before hearing several 'thuck' sounds. Getting to one knee, Willow stared with her eyes wide open at several thick pikes. Tied to those pikes with their arms and legs tied behind them were Buffy, Faith, and the Scoobies. As well as Althanea, Joyce, Angel, and Dawn.

"What.. what…" Willow whispered shaking her head.

"You know what to do," Borzan said as he looked to his left, away from Willow, and then vanished. Willow turned her head to where the demon was speaking before vanishing, and her eyes widened at the sight of her darker self-swaggering forwards. Willow started to get up to her feet, but her body was still in pain, and her feet were still trembling… unable to carry her own weight. So Willow stumbled back and fell with her back to the hard ground.

"Oh, I sure know what to do," the dark Willow said as she stopped, and stood over Willow who was on her elbows, staring up at her dark bikini clad self. "And before you say anything, I know exactly what you're thinking."

"I doubt it," Willow hissed.

"I am you," Dark Willow said with a sneer on her face, "I am the darkness that's taking over your body… or is it my body? Either way, I am going to be in control."

"I…."

"Uh uh uh," Dark Willow said wagging her finger, "I wouldn't use our powers here… you never know what could be affected in the real world. And our dear Tara is so scared."

"You… you… saw…"

"Of course, I did. I just saw her. Poor girl standing naked in the kitchen," the Dark Willow crowed as she crouched down and stared into Willow's eyes before licking her lips, "when I was locked in that brand on your chest? I felt every touch, every caress, every kiss, every emotion that went through our body when she's with us."

"Stay away from her!" yelled Willow, enraged, as she forced herself to her trembling feet. The Dark Willow stood up with a smile until she was face to face with a tense Willow.

"I'm you, I'm in control now," Dark Willow said, her black eyes staring right into Willow, "I'll make Buffy and Dawn my pets, Joyce and Giles can be Acathla's slaves…"

"Shut up!" Willow yelled as she swung a fist at Dark Willow's head. Dark Willow grabbed the trembling fist with her own steady hand, pulled Willow forward and then punched her. Dark Willow continued to punch Willow's face while grabbing onto her hand in a vice-like grip.

"Xander and Anya will be decorations in my living room," Dark Willow exclaimed while savagely beating Willow who was bruised and bleeding already, "Angel will be burning in the pits! Althanea will be sent to the Fire Wraiths to be tortured for all eternity, and Tara… well, I'll enjoy corrupting her light."

"No," Willow groaned as she fell onto the ground. Her body was in extreme pain as she rolled onto her back while screaming as Dark Willow slammed her boot onto Willow's chest. She looked up at Dark Willow and her blood covered left fist, and shook her head, "stay… stay away from…"

"Tara?" Dark Willow exclaimed as she kicked the white haired young woman again, and again. "I'm going to corrupt her and make her mine! Do you hear me? Mine! And She'll enjoy it."

The pain going through Willow's body exploded the more she was kicked. She was powerless to do anything; she didn't know if what Dark Willow said about her powers was true or not- that it could affect the real world and that's why she wasn't using it. All Willow knew was that she tried to use her powers, but felt as if access had been lost.

Dark Willow delivered one last kick into Willow's bruised abdomen before stepping back panting. Willow was bleeding onto the hard ground from her lips and various cuts on her body as her eyes shifted back up at Dark Willow.

"Like I said," Dark Willow whispered at the groaning Willow, "I know what you're thinking. You could use your powers, but you cut them off because a part of you knew that you would harm Tara if you lashed out." Willow slowly closed her eyes and then opened them once again to see Dark Willow crouch down, "that's been our weakness. Love. A weakness I've felt while sealed in the brand on your chest. A weakness I've had to endure, at least until now."

"No," whispered Willow as she watched Dark Willow form a sword in her hand.

"You'll lie there while I kill the ones tied down to the stakes," Dark Willow said standing up and pointing at the Scoobies, "To you, they are the ones you couldn't save. To me? Well, let's see what they mean to me, shall we?"

"No," Willow tried to move her body as she watched Dark Willow walk away, sword in hand, her fingers gripped tightly around the handle. Willow tried to get up to her feet, but her body felt numb. And cold. All she could do was scream when the sword went through Buffy while Dawn and Joyce screamed for Willow to help them. But Willow still couldn't move. She saw Dark Willow pull the bloody sword from Buffy's chest before moving to Faith, and then Joyce, Althanea, and then Giles. All were cut down as Dark Willow laughed. And then came Angel, who turned to dust after being beheaded, and then Willow's eyes widened. She felt her mind starting to shut down when Dawn was killed. And now, all she heard was Tara begging for her life.

"No," Willow whispered as she tried to force her body to move to no avail, "no!"

When the sword went through Tara's chest, Willow felt her body grow cold. And then she felt herself closing her eyes in shock.

And Borzan's laughter echoing in her ear.

 **The Summers House, a minute after Buffy and Faith left.**

Dawn feel the chill in the air. There was something about this moment in time, especially after hearing that there was something seriously wrong with Willow, that made her uneasy. Dawn knew she needed to be there for Willow, but she didn't know why. All she knew was that there was a throbbing sensation in her chest that she got when she thought about Willow being in trouble.

Dawn remembered sneaking into Willow's room the night the white-haired young woman returned from Hell. While the others were sleeping in the waiting room, Dawn tip-toed into Willow's room, walked past both Sheila and Ira sleeping on their cots before making her way to the side of Willow's bed. Dawn thought to herself that the unconscious Willow looked as if she was at peace, and nothing like the one that Buffy had seen for the first time when she arrived at the Rosenberg family home.

Dawn placed a hand over Willow's hand and held on for a few seconds while staring at the sleeping woman. "I missed you," Dawn whispered before leaning forward and giving Willow a kiss on the forehead. Then the next morning, Dawn helped Willow begin understanding who she was, and who they were and what they each meant to each other. As Dawn sat at the island in the Summers kitchen while Joyce began washing dishes, Dawn remembered sitting next to Willow on the bed and going through pictures with her, Buffy, and Xander.

And then came Borzan. Dawn remembered Willow screaming while Buffy and Faith were knocked aside. Dawn remembered being flung against a wall before Willow was flung to one side. She remembered Ira and Sheila dying, before Borzan picked her up and was about to kill her as well. She remembered Willow firing a blast at Borzan, with herself falling to the ground while Willow crawled to her dead parents and cradled them close.

Dawn, her body in pain from being flung and hitting the wall, rushed to Buffy and then Faith. And then she rushed to Willow whose tears were falling onto the pooling blood of her parents. The young girl then hugged the former redhead.

Dawn was going through her memories of spending time with Willow while the throbbing in her chest started to quicken. "Mom," Dawn whispered as she got off her chair while one hand gripped the edge of the island, and the other hand her chest, "mom?"

"Dawn!" yelled Joyce a she rushed to Dawn who was clearly in pain, "Dawn? We… we're going to the hospital, and.."

"No," Dawn shook her head. She felt drawn to where Buffy was going. Dawn was terrified for her sister, for Faith, for Giles… for them all. Dawn felt a chill go through her body, and she felt a pull at the same time. A pull to Willow. Dawn couldn't explain it, but deep down she knew that she needed to be there. Dawn turned to her mother who looked on with a worried face before she rushed to the phone in the kitchen to call 9-1-1. "Mom," Dawn groaned as Joyce put the receiver to her ear and was about to dial, "take.. take me to Willow. Please."

"No," Joyce shook her head. She remembered Althanea saying that whatever it was that seemed to take control of Willow was dangerous.

"Mom!" Dawn yelled as her chest stung in pain, there was something yearning to be closer to Willow, "please. I… I feel as if I need to be with Buffy. To be with her when she meets Willow or…" Dawn then widened her eyes as tears welled up, "or she'll die. Mom, Buffy will die. Faith, Tara… they'll… please. I need to be there, I… I feel I need to be there."

Joyce looked into Dawn's pleading eyes and put the phone down. She then picked it up again and dialled Buffy's cell phone number. "Buffy, I know you just left and all but.. but I need you to turn around. I need you back here."

"Faith," Buffy said as they were about to drive onto the main road, "turn around. We need to pick up mom and Dawn."

"Why?" Faith asked as she stopped the Jeep, and then turned it around. Buffy asked Joyce what was going on, and that it would be dangerous for the latter and Joyce to be in the house. Buffy glanced at Faith as she listened to Joyce talk about how Dawn was feeling a pain in her chest, and was convinced that it had something to do with Willow.

 **The Rosenberg residence, now.**

While Glory stopped and leaned against one of the lobby walls at her apartment building with her eyes opened wide in stunned silence at the sudden increase in dark energy, Althanea slammed on the brakes in her car. The car skidded to the edge of the sidewalk just outside Willow's house while she felt dark energy permeating through her very soul. She grabbed the steering wheel tight with both hands as her body seemed to turn cold, and a chill went up and down her spine.

She was afraid. Very, very afraid.

As was Glory. It was a feeling that the woman wasn't used to, and she wanted to know what was going on. She could feel a cold breeze brush her skin… a breeze that made her shudder; but not before screaming at her minions to get her car to the lobby entrance.

'What are you?' Glory thought to herself as cold fingers brushed her skin.

In the meantime, Althanea shook her head and brushed off the fear permeating her body as she opened the driver's side door and rushed out. She ran to the driveway and then up the porch stairs, and to the front door where she slammed her fist against the wooded panelled door while calling for Tara. Althanea was terrified by now… she guessed that the closer she got to the house, the more terrified she felt. As she pounded her fist against the door, Althanea could feel fingers brush her skin and reach into her mind.

Mumbling a spell that erected a protective barrier against the dark energy permeating out of the house. She could now feel the fingers that were brushing against her skin lessen and, at the same time, she could feel the 'fingers' trying to force their way through the barrier.

"Tara!," Althanea exclaimed as she placed her forehead on the door, "Tara, can you hear me?"

Althanea stepped back and rubbed her forehead at the sudden heat that travelled through the door. She stared at the wood panelled door in stunned silence before mumbling another spell that unlocked the door, and then turned the knob. As the door opened, Althanea shuddered as a cold wind gushed out into the surrounding air. She looked around as the sky suddenly turned dark, followed by the swaying trees from the heavy wind, and leaves rustling on the branches before they were torn off.

"Tara!" yelled Althanea after she turned around again, rushed through the threshold and then placed her hands on the doorframe. 'Evil. So much evil. Willow, what's happening to you?' Althanea was aware that the others were coming soon as well, and that they needed protection against the dark forces that were emanating from the house. Althanea pushed aside her still growing fear, or at least she tried to, and mumbled while her eyes slowly closed, "Soteria, goddess of safety and salvation, I beseech thee to protect those who walk through these doors from harm and evil." Althanea opened her eyes to see a silver barrier form at the entrance. She knew it wouldn't stop whatever was happening in the house, but it would be enough to protect the others when they walk through the barrier and into the house.

'It won't stop this dark energy I feel from leaving the house, though,' Althanea thought to herself as she walked into the house. She felt the just created barrier form around her body as she yelled for Tara.

Tara was staring through the open door. Her hands were on her chest as she stared through the just opened door to the room she shared with Willow. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest, followed by a distant voice calling her name. Tara thought it was Althanea calling her name; and she felt her lips part… she felt herself breathe as she stared through the door at Willow whose aura was now completely taken over by darkness. Tara didn't know if she called out for Althanea as Willow started to float off the bed; she didn't know if it was Althanea's footsteps rushing up the stairs and then towards her while she watched Willow rotate in mid-air as a black matte material with white highlights began covering her body.

"Tara!" Althanea yelled as she jerked Tara around and towards her. Their eyes met, and Tara immediately started to cry as she hugged the older woman. In the meantime, Althanea's eyes widened as she turned her head to look into the room while hugging Tara tight. She saw Willow's body floating into a standing position before lowering herself to the floor. As she stared through the door, Althanea saw Willow's upper back being covered with the black matte material while white lines went down her side.

"Willow," Althanea whispered as a rush of cold air went through her body. She felt the fingers straining to get through the barrier as Willow slowly turned around; and Althanea released a gasp. Willow was nearly unrecognizable. Althanea stepped back, her mind going through a series of defensive and offensive spells as she stared into the deep black eyes that seemed to be drilling holes straight into her soul. Althanea felt evil radiate from every part of Willow; from the eyes, to the veins on her face… veins that seemed to go down under the white accented black matte suit she was wearing. Althanea stared at the jet black hair, and then she felt a rush of dark energy surge from Willow who formed a sneer with her lips.

"I'm not done," Dark Willow whispered as she raised her arm to the left while staring at the terrified Althanea. She mentally reached out for the badge, the Galaxy Rangers badge, and opened the drawer where it was being kept. The badge was drained of all its Alpha Radiation charge, and so it didn't serve a purpose. Willow had been relying on her own training with Ariel and the Circle of Thought, and on her training as a Ranger, and her training with Giles to get her through her nightly activities. But now, it was Dark Willow who mentally pulled the badge to her while mumbling a spell in a deep voice.

Althanea and Tara felt the temperature drop as a sphere of blue energy formed in the palm of Dark Willow's hand. The two of them stared at the badge entering the sphere before energy started to crackle on the badge itself, inside the sphere.

"Wi.. Willow?" Tara said, her voice cracking, "you.. you have to be.. be there…"

"Oh sweetie, I am your Willow," Dark Willow said tilting her head while tapping the side of her head, as the energy was absorbed into the badge. One the energy was fully absorbed, Willow grabbed it before placing it on her belt. Willow then smiled before taking a deep breath, "I created my own surge of Alpha Radiation. And now? Now I can bring the end. Bring Hell to this Earth, and put it under Acathla's rule."

"You will not succeed," Althanea said as she stepped in front of Tara and held out her hands. She gathered as much power as she could despite the chill going through her body. She kept on telling herself that this wasn't Willow, that she shouldn't hold back. But the part that saw the woman in front of her as the Willow she knew made Althanea hesitate, "I…"

"You will do nothing," Dark Willow whispered as she waved her hand and immediately both Althanea and Tara were flung against the wall behind them. Willow then walked about the bed and towards them as her arm was raised towards them. She closed her fist tight, causing sections of the wall to immobilize Tara and Althanea's wrists, ankles, and waist. The wall sections held them down just as they once held down Drusilla before she was killed by Willow. Willow stared at both Althanea and Tara with a smile while putting her arm down by her side, "you can do nothing."

"Will…" Tara was interrupted by the front door slamming open and a male voice yelling out for her and Althanea.

"I'm up here!" Dark Willow yelled, impersonating Tara's voice. Willow sneered at the shocked Tara who tried to scream out, but found that no sound was coming out of her lips. Dark Willow glanced at Althanea who was under the same spell as well before turning her head towards the footsteps coming up the stairs. "Quick Giles, she's gonna get us." Dark Willow continued to impersonate Tara's voice as she walked towards the top of the stairs, which was were Giles appeared a second later. He turned and stared at Dark Willow with wide open eyes while she spoke in Tara's voice, "oops, someone was tricked."

"Willow?" Giles said before he looked behind the black haired young woman. He saw Althanea and Tara looking back at him while struggling to rip their arms and legs off the sections of the wall that were holding them tight.

"The Willow you knew is gone, old man," Dark Willow said before a sneer appeared on her face, "I am the Darkness."

"I…." Dark Willow did a quick spin kick that impacted the side of Giles' head before he could say anything else. He stumbled sideways while grabbing the side of his head. He was then thrown onto the wall with a wave of Willow's hand, before crumbling down to the floor. He lay there unconscious as Dark Willow looked down at him before raising her arm. She looked over her shoulder at both Tara and Althanea as they 'umm…. Umm…' at her with eyes wide open on terror. Dark Willow sighed and then snapped her fingers with her other hand, "what?"

"Don't kill him," Althanea said after feeling her voice returning.

"Please, Willow… you… you kill him?, then you…"

"I'm not killing any of you," Dark Willow said as she turned around towards the two women. Tara and Althanea stared at Willow as she continued, "I won't kill you. You're all going to be mine and Acathla's play things. Well, except for Angel, I want to see him burn and reform, before burning again for all time." Dark Willow then glanced at Tara, "sweet Tara, I'm going to enjoy corrupting your light so much. I'm going to enjoy darkening your very soul."

"Willow!" yelled Tara reaching out to her lover, the one she knew was still in the woman in front of her. "Don't be afraid, fight. Fight. We're…."

"I told you Tara, I am Willow," Dark Willow said shaking her head, "I'm the one who was created in Hell. I'm the one here now. You deal with me, and I will show you how dark and brutal you can be in the hell that's coming." Willow then turned to the unconscious Giles before looking over her shoulder at the door at the bottom of the stairs swinging open once again as both Xander and Anya rushed into the house.

"Tara! Althanea?!" yelled Xander after a barriers was formed around his and Anya's body, "where…"

"Xander." Anya stated plainly while placing a hand on his shoulder as she stared up at the top of the stairs.

"Willow?" Xander whispered as a rush of cold air went through his body and Anya's.

"Xander, Anya," Dark Willow whispered, "just in time."

 **The Rosenberg Residence, Five minutes later.**

The Jeep screeched to a stop in the driveway just as the sky started to turn red. Buffy, Faith, Joyce, and Dawn rushed out and stared up at the sky before feeling the ground around them tremble. Buffy then turned and stared at Faith, followed by Joyce and then at Dawn who was grasping her chest. Buffy frowned at Dawn who was telling her that she needed to be here…. Despite all her reservations, despite Joyce's reservations… Buffy and Faith agreed to bring Dawn with them.

But not into the house.

"Dawnie, you and mom stay here," Buffy said as she and Faith began to make their way at to door.

"Buff…."

"Stay here!" Buffy yelled at Dawn, over the sudden howl of the wind that was threatening to push them backwards while black lightning jumped from one cloud to another. Buffy then hurried with Faith to the front door which the both of them kicked down. Dawn, through the pain radiating from her chest, caught a glimpse of Dark Willow in the living room, through a section of the foyer, as the latter turned once the door was ripped off its hinges. Dawn widened her eyes as she saw Dark Willow sneering at Buffy and Faith who stopped at the edge of the Foyer.

"Buffy, Faith," Willow pouted while the two Slayers saw Althanea and the others being held on the walls by an invisible force, "you sure took your own sweet time. You had me waiting for…"

"Willow," Buffy said as she shook her head while glancing at her friend. She could feel the dark energy coming off Willow, "I… this isn't you, Will. Look at what you're doing. Look at Tara. You're hurting Tara."

"You…"

"Look at her!" yelled Buffy at Willow, interrupting her gloat, as she pointed her finger at Tara, "the Willow I knew would never do this. She would never…"

"The Willow you knew?" Dark Willow said looking back at Buffy after blowing a kiss at the immobilized Tara, "the Willow you knew is dead and gone. She was weak… she had so many choices to kill you, Buffy. So many choices to kill you after coming back from Hell. Even while you talked, the Willow you thought you knew imagined you on a torture rack."

"Willow," Faith said shaking her head, "Buffy knows how you feel about…"

"Shush," Dark Willow said before waving her hands.

"Faith!" Buffy yelled out as Faith was ripped off the floor and slammed into the wall next to the newly conscious Giles. Buffy then turned back to Willow and closed her hands into fists, "Willow, I…"

"You bore me, Buffy," Willow whispered before she waved her hand and slammed Buffy into the wall next to Xander. All of them were struggling to break the invisible bonds that held them to the walls. Willow looked out the living room entrance, and out the foyer through the front door to both Dawn and Joyce. She sneered at the both of them, with Joyce holding onto a tearful Dawn. It was when Willow shifted her eyes to Dawn that she saw something strange, something she hadn't noticed before.

'There's a green outline, a green coloured energy around her,' Dark Willow thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes. Shaking her head, she turned back to the others and thought, 'I'll tear her piece by piece when the Hellmouth's been opened, and I've brought the other Jailers and Acathla back to Earth. I'll find out what that green energy is… oh, and I'll have fun cutting her apart to find it.'

"Now," Dark Willow said as she walked to the center of the room while staring at Buffy and Faith, "you may have been wondering about the red sky. Well, that's what happens when you're ready to open the Hellmouth."

"Willow," Anya said, "whatever Borzan, or Acathla, or whoever it is… whatever they promised you? It's all a lie, and…"

"Shhh," Dark Willow put her finger to her lips before saying, "one more word, and I tear your heart out. And believe me, without hell being here… you won't be able to resurrect for me to do it again, and again, and again, and again, and…"

"Willow!" Tara exclaimed, "fight! I know you're there, I know….!"

"Watch," Dark Willow sneered at Tara, "watch as your world burns."

Willow pressed the badge on her belt and closed her eyes while raising her arms by her side. It was then that Willow breathed deeply as she felt her Series Five Implant powering up, boosting her abilities. Willow then started to mumble a spell, a spell taught to her by the Circle of Thought that would enable the caster to access the lifeforce of an entire world. It was employed by Ariel for planet to planet teleportation, an ability that Niko studied but wasn't able to further develop to Ariel's level due to the formers entry into the Galaxy Rangers.

"Willow!" Giles yelled as a gust of wind broke out in the living room, scattering books and pictures all over as blueish green energy shoot out from the Earth, up through the house, and into the palms of Dark Willow's hands, "Willow!"

"By the goddess," Althanea said as she felt fear permeate her body. She recognized the energy that Willow was gathering, "she… she's gathering the Earth's lifeforce. Willow! No!"

"What do you mean?" Buffy yelled over the howling wind as Willow brought her hands slowly together while energy continued to gather. The swirling balls of energy in her hands gathered with a deafening roar that shot out the window all over the house, and all over the street as Dawna and Joyce ducked when the Jeep's windows blew out. As did the other windows of the houses down the street, and down several blocks. Dawn looked at the shattered windows, and then back at the house. There was something telling her to get into the house, that she would be able to stop it. She could feel Joyce loosening her grip around her body, and Dawn took the chance to wriggle free and make a run for the door.

"Dawn!" yelled a scared Joyce as she ran after Dawn.

In the meantime, Althanea looked on in horror as the swirling red and black energy between Dark Willow's hands started to grow while more of the Earth's energy was being pulled in.

"She's gathering the Earth's lifeforce," Anya said with fear in her voice as she stared at the red and black energy, "she… she's corrupting the energy."

"My Series Five implant, together with training from the Circle, Ariel, Althanea, and the Devon Coven has made me more powerful than you would ever know," Willow growled as she looked up at Anya, "its boosted my powers until I was able to pull Earth's lifeforce, and infuse my own dark aura into it." Willow then smiled as she looked at the ball of red and black energy in her hand as the howling wind in the living room vanished. Everything that had been flying around fell to the floor with a thud. "I let this fall, and the Hellmouth opens." Willow looked up and smiled at Tara, "say goodbye to…"

"Willow!" Dawn yelled as she pushed the door open and ran into the living room.

"Dawn!" yelled Buffy, Faith, the other Scoobies, and Joyce who ran in after her. Joyce grabbed Dawn's collar and was about to pulled her back. "Mom! Get Dawn out of here, and…. Mom!" Willow casually waved one hand at Joyce while the other held up the ball. Joyce was pushed by an invisible force into the living room where she landed on the dining table. From her vantage point, Buffy saw Joyce groan and roll onto her back after she fell on the table top with a thud.

"My little Dawnie," Dark Willow said as she stared at the brunette, and the green energy that surrounded her, "why so green?" Dawn looked confused at Dark Willow as she felt the throbbing in her chest subside somewhat while Willow continued, "umm…. I'll find out what you really are when Hell comes here, Dawnie. Don't worry, I'll cut you up to get into your…"

"Stop it, Willow," Dawn said with fear in her voice as she looked up at the dark haired woman, "I…. I…." Dawn suddenly felt a warmth go through her body as she stepped back and grabbed the side of her head. There was a throbbing sensation as she stared at a confused Dark Willow, and then at a group of confused Scoobies who were all looking back at her. Dawn wondered what was going on before she turned and looked at Joyce getting off the table very slowly, her body obviously in pain. The older woman turned around and gasped before rushing to Dawn.

"Dawn," Joyce said as she kneeled down and grabbed the girl's hands. It was then that Dawn, for the first time, looked down and saw her hands glowing white.

"Mom?" Dawn said while shaking her head in confusion, "what's…."

"Your eyes," Joyce whispered as white light started to emanate from Dawn's eyes. It was then that a feeling of warmth went through the entire house as Willow stepped back while narrowing her eyes at Dawn.

"Dawnie?" Tara said after the fingers that had been caressing her skin for the past two minutes following the collapse of her barrier, simply vanished.

"Whatever this is?" Dark Willow said shaking her head as Dawn turned her head, "there's nothing you can do. The end…" Willow sneered as she removed her hand from the bottom of the ball of energy, "has come." The ball of Earth's corrupted lifeforce started to fall. Time seemed to slow down for Dawn as she watched the ball fall while Buffy and the others were screaming at Willow to stop it from falling. There was something in the depths of her soul that Dawn felt calling out to her to stop what was about to happen.

Time slowed even more. Dawn heard her heart beat slow, her breathing slow as she looked at the panicked expression on Joyce's face as she held onto Dawn's cheeks. It was then that she noticed someone behind Joyce. Dawn shifted her eyes behind Joyce and saw her… a long haired redhead in a white dress. There was something familiar about her that Dawn couldn't place.

But it was her sight that seemed to give Dawn strength. Dawn looked back at the worried Joyce, who was looking at the ball which had started to fall. Dawn turned her head, and then her body before she threw herself towards the ball. Specifically, the area underneath the ball of energy.

"No!" Dawn yelled as time seemed to return to normal. She felt herself flying through the air momentarily before she landed with a thud on the carpeted floor, her arms outstretched. The ball hit her hands which then gave off a brilliant white glow. The sphere of red and black which could have ended the world by opening the Hellmouth, turned blue and white before shooting back down into the Earth.

"No!" growled Willow as she grabbed Dawn by the back of her neck and then flung her against a wall.

"Willow!" Joyce said as she ran at the former redhead who was dashing towards Dawn who was lying on the floor, groaning in pain. Willow turned her head and lifted her arm. She closed her fist as she closed off Joyce's breathing.

"On your knees!" Dark Willow growled while the others screamed at her to stop, "on your knees!" Joyce felt her body on fire as her throat and lungs were being blocked off. She fell on her knees while looking at Willow through tear stained eyes, mentally begging Willow to stop hurting them, "die on your knees. I'll make sure that Dawn…"

"Let her go, Willow," Dawn said as she stood up with her eyes and hands glowing a brilliant white. Dawn turned her head to Joyce, and titled her head. She then waved her hand and turned back to Willow after Joyce was able to breathe once again. Dark Willow turned to Dawn who then waved her hands and freed the other Scoobies who fell feet first onto the carpet covered and debris strewn floor.

"I don't know where you've got this moxie, Dawnie," mocked Dark Willow as she stared at Dawn, and then at the others, and back at Dawn, "but I like being pushed. I'll just bring more Alpha Radiation, and then.. then I'll…"

"Wi.. Willow?," Dawn whispered, her face suddenly fearful as her whole body started to glow white, "Willow?"

"What are you…. You doing?" Dark Willow demanded to know as she felt a warmth travel through her body. "You can't stop me, I.. I am Darkness… I am…"

Dawn suddenly had a more serious expression on her face before she whispered, "I am light." Dawn then stood poised and her lips pursed. It was just then that Dark Willow thought she saw a woman, someone who looked like an older Dawn in a silver and cream dress, standing in place of the Dawn she knew. Tara too caught that momentary glimpse of what looked like an older Dawn standing in the young Dawn's place. She blinked, and the older woman was gone. Dark Willow too closed her eyes and shook her head, opening them only to see the young Dawn glowing white in front of her. "And the light will always shatter the darkness."

"No…." Dark Willow whispered as she stepped back. Dawn gasped and arched her back, pulling back her head and arms as a brilliant white light exploded out of her body.

"No!" Yelled Dark Willow. Just before she closed her eyes, Tara caught a glimpse of the wave of bright white light hitting Dark Willow. She thought she saw a dark cloud being torn away from her and dissipating in the light before the white light it started to get brighter.

Once lying in the cold darkness bleeding and helpless, Willow felt a warmth go through her body as she felt, and heard herself screaming in pain. It felt as if the warmth had permeated her entire body, to every atom, to every molecule, to every muscle, blood vessel, and bone. She could hear herself screaming, she could hear Borzan screaming in her ear.. a scream that died out with a whimper. Willow could literally feel the symbols on her bones and organs, caused by the brands on her chest and shoulder blade, heal shut. She had her eyes closed in pain as she felt the brand on her chest heat up before it started to cool and the skin heal.

"Another chance," a female voice said as the pain vanished from Willow's body.

Willow opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by white, and standing in front of her was a cloaked figure in white, her face covered with a hood that cast a shadow over the face. "Another chance to live your life as you see fit."

"H.. how?" Willow asked as she looked down at her arms and saw the scars that were caused by the hellfire dipped weapons in Acathla's Hell, the very same ones that were never supposed to heal… close up. She watched her skin heal before looking down and finding herself in a white matte body suit with blue accents. It was Niko's Galaxy Ranger uniform she was wearing now, as Willow placed a hand on her chest and tried to feel the symbols of the brand against the skin-tight suit.

And she felt nothing.

"I…. I'm healed?" Willow asked as she looked back up at the figure.

"I was a failsafe," the figure said as she pulled back the hood to reveal herself, much to Willow's surprise, as an older woman who looked just like an older Dawn. "unfortunately I cannot take away the memory of what you almost did."

And then the memories came flooding back to Willow. She nearly ended the world… she hurt Tara, Buffy, Faith… she hurt Joyce and Dawn. She hurt so many.

"And they will not fault you," the figure said standing still, as if she knew what Willow was thinking. "And you will not remember this conversation."

"Then why…." Willow shook her head as she crumbled down to her knees. She felt exhausted.

"Your wounds were caused by darkness you faced in hell, and remained with you because of the darkness that was locked away in the brand that once remained on your chest by the acts you committed in Hell," the woman said tilting her head at Willow, "but darkness will never stand against the light. I am the part of Dawn that remained Hera, I was created for one situation… and one situation only. If the darkness within you took over then I was to save your soul."

"I…." Willow whispered as she lay sideways on the floor and looked up at the woman. Willow felt so tired.

"The darkness that was sealed within the brand is gone, the brands are gone," the figure said, "the only darkness that remains is the one you create for yourself from this moment onwards. You have the potential for good or evil, Willow. It's now your will to choose, my champion."

"Champion?" Willow mumbled.

"You won't remember me," the figure whispered as Willow felt her body go numb, "goodbye, my…"

Before the figure could finish, Willow closed her eyes. She then suddenly heard voices all around her shouting. She felt warm arms cradling her body while footsteps 'thuded' all around her.

"Dawn!"

"Willow!"

Willow recognized one of the voices calling to her. She loved the warmth and concern in the voice. Opening her eyes slowly, Willow looked into the brown eye of the woman she loved. The very same women she remembered hurting only minutes ago.

"T… Ta… Tara?" Willow asked.

Tara nodded her head as tears welled in her eyes. Tears of happiness as she looked down at the woman she was cradling in her arms while her eyes took in the bright red hair.

"Hi," Tara whispered.

"I…." Willow then remembered Dawn, and her eyes widened in panic, "Dawn, where's Dawn.. where's…"

"Willow?" a weak voice called out.

Willow turned her head to see an exhausted Dawn looking back at her while she was being cradled by Joyce.

"Mrs. Summers, I…. I'm so sorry," Willow said as she remembered what happened when she flung Joyce aside earlier.

"We're all alright," Joyce reassured Willow as Buffy kneeled down next to Willow and placed her hand on her cheek.

"Never thought I'd see the red hair again," Buffy whispered as Giles checked in on Dawn, and then Willow.

"Red?" Willow said as she raised an arm and caught a clump of her hair and pulled it to the front. Willow's eyes widened when she saw the clump in her hair had reverted to her bright red colour. The colour before she was pulled to hell. And All Willow could do was smile before closing her eyes, "tired."

"The sky cleared up," Anya said looking out the window as a car driven by a blonde woman in a red dress roared past. Anya glimpsed at her driving off before turning around to Xander who was heading for Dawn, who was slowly sitting up before she put her arms around Joyce's shoulders and went to sleep; exhausted.

 **Glory's car.**

"I sensed it right here," as she skidded her car left and accelerated onto another street while her minions shuddered in fear, "where is it!" As Glory entered the neighbourhood, she saw the red skies clear up and the feeling of the dark energy brushing against her skin vanish. She saw residents of the houses rushing out to inspect the shattered glass on their lawns and driveways, but Glory had been searching for that dark energy source.

She knew she was close. But now there was no sign of it.

And She was mad.

"Where is it!" Glory demanded as she drove the car like a maniac, while the minions in the rear seat panicked. Suddenly, the car screeched to a stop several houses down.. and then Glory gasped before saying, "damn it!" She changed form to a male who looked around confused before looking down at the steering when, and then at the red dress he was wearing. Scowling, the man then turned his head and glared at the minions.

"What did dear old sis do now?" he demanded. As the minions explained, he stepped on the acceleration and drove back to Glory's apartment.

TBC.


	53. Chapter 53

**The Rosenberg Residence.**

Tara was still wondering who it was she saw in the bright light as the unconscious Willow's top half lay on her arms and knees. The blonde witch stared down at the red hair and marvelled at how bright it was while her eyes scanned down from Willow's hair, to her face, and then down to the tight fitting uniform she was wearing. It was a white coloured suit with a blue collar, the blue extending down her sleeves. Tara moved her head and eyes further down to the grey belt around her waist, the Ranger badge secured firmly on her belt buckle. Tara's eyes then went down to the dark blue knee-high boots and knee pads. Tara's eyes shifted back up the curves of Willow's body and back to her face; with Tara leaning down as she brushed her fingers along Willow's smooth skin.

"Tara," whispered a familiar male voice. A voice that brought Tara out of her own thoughts as she looked up as Xander crouched in front of her. It was then that she looked over his shoulder and saw that the sleeping Dawn was in Giles' arms before he turned and took her up the stairs with Joyce close behind the both of them. Tara then turned her head to Xander who reached out with his arms and said that he'll carry Willow to her bedroom so that she could rest comfortably.

"Oh," Tara whispered shaking her head, forcing her body to move, "yeah, sure."

Tara stood up after Xander took Willow in his arms, and then stood up. AS she got up to her feet, Tara glanced at Buffy looking at Willow; Tara could tell she was happy to see that Willow was alright. At the same time, Tara also sensed curiosity from the blonde Slayer; and it made her wonder if Buffy had seen the older Dawn that appeared for just a second.

Tara turned her head to look at Anya, and then at Faith, both of whom were standing together watching as Willow was carried past them as she lay sleeping in Xander's arms. Tara got up to her feet and walked towards Buffy and Faith, both of whom turned to her.

"Yeah, remind me to never piss off your girl," Faith jokingly said. She was trying to lift the tension hat still remained in the living room after what had just happened- Willow had nearly brought an end to the world. Singlehandedly.

Wanting to lessen the tension, Tara chuckled, as did Buffy and Faith while Anya stood looking around at the disaster area that was the living room. But the attempt at humour didn't do much to lift the tension and worry. The three of them, along with Anya who walked over, looked around at the mess in the living room before Tara took a step forward and began picking up some of the books and pictures that scattered on the floor.

Very soon, Faith, Buffy, and Anya began helping.

"I…." Tara said as she stood up after picking up two books and three framed pictures, the glass in the frames cracked after crashing down onto the floor. She carefully placed them on the books before walking to a shelf while remembering the image she had seen of the older Dawn. She wanted to know if anyone else had seen the same thing, "I… thought I saw something in the light. I mean… not something, but someone."

"Who?" Buffy asked while furrowing her eyebrows.

"It was like an older version of Dawn," Tara clarified.

"All I saw was the light," Faith said as she crouched down and picked up some other books while Buffy pulled a fallen shelf upright before crouching down to pick up the fallen books, "B?"

"I didn't see anything strange," Buffy said while crouched and looking back at Tara, "but I'm wondering about something Willow…"

"Dark Willow," Faith pointed out as she stood up carrying some books, "she did look like a dark version of Willow."

"Yeah, sorry," Buffy shook her head as she recalled the anger and hate from the seemingly possessed Willow earlier, "Dark Willow said something about Dawn," Buffy stood up after picking up more fallen books, "she said that she would wait for Hell to come here before finding out what Dawn really is." She looked down at the book and then walked towards the nearest shelf which was still standing, "she specifically said 'what', not 'who'."

"I heard that too," Faith confirmed.

"Me too," Anya said as she recalled that threat Willow made to Dawn, "but after that I remember this white light coming out from Dawn."

"Maybe it was a mistake?" Faith asked picking up some music CD's.

Buffy shrugged her shoulders as questions started to form in her mind about how Dawn was able to do what she did, about what Dark Willow meant about wanting to find out what Dawn was, and she wanted to know about this older Dawn that Tara mentioned. Buffy loved her sister despite her annoying mannerisms, and so she needed to know if Dawn was in danger… she needed to know if Dawn was going to be safe.

For now though, all Buffy and the others could do was come up with even more questions while beginning to clean the disaster area which was the living room.

 **The Rosenberg Residence, 0500 hours.**

Willow still had the nightmares of being tortured by Borzan. She felt the heat from the hellfire dipped weapons as she was cut and stabbed, she still remembered the heat and pain from the hellfire dipped brand that was thrust into her chest signifying her position as one of Acathla's Jailors. When Borzan crackled in laughter while she was shackled to a blood covered wooden table as he pressed the brand into her chest, Willow snapped her eyes open. Willow found herself breathing hard as she, with groggy eyes, found herself staring into darkness.

She panted hard as she looked to her left and saw a curtain covered window, and then she closed her eyes and mentally told herself that she was home. That she wasn't in hell. Opening her eyes again, Willow turned her head towards her right and saw a blanket covered Tara sleeping on her side facing Willow.

'My Tara,' Willow thought as her mind went back to pushing her and Althanea up against a wall when she was Dark Willow. And then Willow remembered nearly ending the world before a bright light erupted from Dawn, 'and now….' Willow looked down at herself and pulled the edge of the blanket upwards to see that she was wearing a shirt and shorts underneath. She put her hand underneath her blanket, and then slipped it beneath the bottom of her shirt. She and brushed her fingers on her own skin around her abdomen, searching for the familiar sensation of burned and healed skin. 'There are no scars,' Willow thought to herself as she remembered the pain that went through her whole body as the bright white light seemed to enter every part of her being. Then Willow lifted her shirt further up to her chest and brushed her fingers on the area just above her breasts and closed her eyes in relief when she didn't feel the familiar scars, 'it's gone. The.. the brand. It's really gone.' Willow pulled her shirt back down and opened her eyes.

For the first time since returning from Hell, she felt a relief that permeated her entire body. She concentrated on the soft mattress beneath her and focused on getting back to sleep. However, she still couldn't. Willow felt exhausted but opened her eyes, rubbed them with the back of her hand, and then slowly sat up propped on her elbows. She looked over the sleeping Tara and then at the bedside clock, and saw that it was just after five in the morning. Not wanting to disturb Tara, Willow mentally grabbed her own body and lifted herself off the bed. And then she shifted to the side and floated off the edge while repositioning her body until her feet were facing the floor. She then gently landed, the bottom of her feet touching the soft carpet.

It was warm against her feet while the cool air circulating in the room from the Air-conditioner was a welcome sensation against the exposed parts of her arms and legs. Willow then noticed her table, and a smile appeared in her face as she walked towards the uniform draped over the back of the chair.

'My Ranger uniform, no… Niko's uniform, and… well.. it's mine now,' Willow thought as she placed her hand on the rough textured, but skin tight, uniform. She then looked up and tip-toed towards the door to their room and then slowly opened it. The hallway was dark as she walked out of the room and into the hallway. She gently walked to her parents room, the one she hadn't entered or disturbed since their deaths; and gently opened the door.

"Willow, you'll be staying by yourself for a few days," Willow saw a vision of her mother standing in front of the dresser while putting on some makeup, "your father and I are heading to St. Louise for the conference."

Willow smiled at the reflection of herself on the dresser mirror on the opposite side of the doorway where Willow was standing. "Willow, be good. We'll be back in three days." The redhead leaned her head on the door frame as she smiled at the vision of her father walking up to Sheila. And just as they appeared, the vision of her mother and father melted away into the darkness of the room that belonged to her parents. Willow took in the lingering scent in the air that belonged to her parents and then slowly closed the door. Turning around, Willow walked over to the top of the stairs and grabbed the banister. She walked down a step, and then another, and another, until she was at the foot of the stairs. Willow walked into the living room and saw that everything that was strewn on the floor earlier that day was back up on the shelves. She then walked to the dining room and saw where Dark Willow flung Joyce earlier that day.

'I should make up for that,' Willow thought to herself as she walked into the kitchen. It was there that she chuckled as her stomach growled. Willow walked in and placed her left hand on the surface of the island before heading for the fridge. She opened the door, the bright orange light from the inside shining on her face as she bent over to search for something to eat.

'Hungry,' she thought to herself as she shifted the food in the fridge before looking at the inside of the door. Willow smiled and reached down for the apple juice carton, opened it, and then stood up. She tilted the opened end of the carton over her mouth and drank down the cool liquid. She felt the juice go down her throat before tilting her head back down when the lights suddenly came on. Willow spun around with the juice carton in her right hand while the door to the fridge was closing shut. She smiled when Tara stood yawning at the entrance to the kitchen before the latter walked in.

"Thirsty?" Tara asked walking around the island and giving Willow a kiss on her cheek while grabbing the carton and then gently pulling it away. Willow nodded her head as she watched Tara walk past her, the witches fingers brushing her arm, and then to the counter where Tara grabbed two glass and poured them each a cup. Handing one to Willow, Tara asked if she was feeling better.

"Yeah," Willow said before taking a sip. Tara leaned back against the island while Willow leaned back against the fridge, "thanks for the clean-up." Willow then nodded towards the dining room and living room.

"It was nothing," Tara replied as she glanced up at Willow.

"I… I'm sorry, Tara," Willow whispered as she walked closer to her girlfriend while holding the cup of juice in her hand. Tara turned her head and then locked her eyes with the redhead who now stood in front of her, "I… I didn't know about the seal holding in all the darkness that… I mean…"

"It's okay," Tara assured Willow while reaching behind her and placing the glass on the island surface.

"It's not okay," Willow said taking a step forward, their bodies now touching as Tara wrapped her arms around Willow's waist and pulled her in tighter. Willow placed her cup on the island next to Tara's cup and then, their lips nearly brushing against each other, she placed a hand on the side of Tara's face. Willow felt Tara lean into her hand while saying, "I hurt you. I hurt Althanea and Buffy, and Faith, and Joyce, and…"

"Mrs Summers knows that it wasn't you," Tara asked as she looked into Willow's green eyes.

"That was the…."

"The dark part yourself that was formed in Hell."

"I still remember, Tara," Willow whispered, "I remember killing and torturing. I.. I may not have the scars on my body but… but I still experienced it."

"And I'm here to listen… we're here to listen, Willow," Tara whispered, "you can talk to us."

"I know," Willow said looking into Tara's eyes as their noses touched. Willow then closed her eyes as she remembered seeing the green energy from Dawn. She opened her eyes and gently told Tara about what she saw, and then there was the bright light that exploded from Dawn's body. Willow explained how it felt to have the light go through her very being before finding herself cradled in Tara's arms as she lay on the carpet in the living room. Once Willow was finished, she stared at the surprise on Tara's face, "baby?" Willow asked.

"You saw something green from Dawn?"

"Some green energy.. it was like shimmering off her," Willow said, "I… I mean the dark part of me wanted to know what it was and…." Willow shook her head when she remembered threatening Dawn, "anyway, I wanted to know what that green shimmering energy was. Didn't you see it?"

"No," Tara said while still holding on to Willow's waist, "I saw something different. Inside the light, I mean, just before the white light exploded from Dawn's body, I thought I saw an older version of Dawn in a silver and cream dress."

"Really?" Willow furrowed her eyebrows, her face etched with curiosity, "I never saw an older Dawn, and I was standing the closest to her. Did Buffy and the others see this… well… older Dawn?"

"No," Tara shook her head. "I… guess it was only me."

"That's weird," Willow said a she brought her hands up to Tara's upper back, "now we have to ask Giles about this older Dawn and… well…. Did Giles tell you and the others about this Glory chick that a hobbit mentioned?"

"Giles mentioned something about it before he left," Tara whispered chuckling, "but you calling those things Hobbits, really? I mean hobbits are cute. From t eh description you gave Giles, Xander suggested creepy trolls."

"Fine," Willow rolled her eyes, "creepy trolls then." Tara then laughed before leaning forward and planting a gentle kiss on Willow's lips. Tara then pulled back slight as her hand ran through the hair on the back of Willow's head with the latter saying, "we can talk about all that later." Willow then leaned forward and kissed Tara square on the lips.

TBC.


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N:** Sorry it so long to upload this chapter. I'm taking a few courses, so my time is divided between those and writing these chapters. Do not worry, I'm still writing but it would take time between writing the chapters and uploading them to the site. In the meantime, enjoy. Cheers.

 **The Rosenberg Residence, 1100 hours.**

Tara slowly opened her eyes to Willow sleeping next to her, her arm draped over the redhead's abdomen while her head rested next to the straps of the tank top Willow wore. Tara closed her eyes and gave a small yawn before moving to her left side and then checking the table clock, 'Eleven in the morning?' she had a smile on her face before her head lay flat on the pillow, her eyes to the ceiling, 'Willow and I did sleep late last night, or is it this morning.' Tara chuckled turning her head back to Willow who sniffled but didn't wake up.

'She's so exhausted,' Tara thought to herself while staring at her lover.

"Ummmm….," Willow moaned while Tara watched. The redhead shook her head on the pillow before whispering, "Tara?" Willow's body was fidgeting, as if she missed the feeling of closeness while Tara's head rested on her shoulder.

"I'm here," Tara whispered back as she lay the side of her head on Willow's shoulder once again.

"Ummmm," the redhead moaned before taking a deep breath while her eyes were closed. Willow's breathing remained steady while Tara looked on at the redhead's profile. Tara saw her lips slightly parted, her chest rising up and down, and then Tara placed a hand on Willow's abdomen and closed her eyes. "I love you, baby," Tara whispered as she snuggled closer onto Willow.

'I can skip this one class,' Tara thought to herself while holding tight to Willow.

A smile appeared on Tara's lips when Willow whispered, "I love you too." And then Willow sighed before pulling Tara closer until their bodies were held tight together. Tara closed her eyes and let her dreams take her to a grassy hill where she lay down on her back with Willow next to her. They watched the clouds floating by as a gentle breeze swayed the long grass around them.

Tara took a deep breath and hoped that their greatest danger was over. All that remained now was for Willow to be checked out by the Devon Coven to ensure that whatever remained of the darkness that gathered in the seal during her time in hell was truly gone. But even as she lay next to Willow on their bed, Tara could feel warmth emanating from Willow's aura. She had always felt that warmth, but this time it was different- the warmth comforted her.

And Tara, again, was content.

What felt like a few minutes after Tara closed her eyes, she stopped feeling the warmth of Willow's body next to her. Instead, she opened her eyes to find herself lying down on damp grass just as lighting flashed across a cloudy sky. She narrowed her eyes and rolled to the side before getting up on an elbow. It was then she was met with the sight of a rundown home- it was Buffy's home with one entire side having collapsed into the ground. Tara slowly got up to her feet, fear gripping her heart, and then stared at the side of the building which looked as if it could collapse at anytime.

Tara told herself that she was dreaming, 'nothing can hurt me here' she thought to herself as a chilly gust of wind rushed past her. Goosebumbs formed on her arms just as Tara heard roars, grunts, and wails all around her. Tara turned her body to the left and was greeted with the sight of even more destruction, and then she turned right and saw more of the same; destroyed homes, cars destroyed with plumes of smoke travelling up into the air.

And then the sky flashed again. Tara looked up at the sky and swore she heard a scream.

"T… Tara?" a familiar voice called out from behind. Tara smiled to herself, 'I knew this is just a dream', before she turned around. Her smile fell up seeing the sight of the woman before her; it was Willow. But her hair was shortened; there were three healed claw marks across her face… it seemed to give the redhead a savage look as she stared at Tara. Tara saw that Willow was wearing a black and grey version of her Galaxy Ranger uniform, along with a pair of glasses that had a yellowing tint. Tara watched Willow take a step back in stunned silence while she took a step forward.

"Willow," Tara said, "I…"

"Who are you?" Willow asked as Tara felt herself being pushed back, her feet scrapping on the ground as she tried to stay still and in place, "the Tara I know.. the Tara I love is dead. And you are just a pale imitation of her. So who are you!?"

"Dead?" Tara whispered with a confused look on her face as the surprise on Willow's face turned to one of anger. Tara saw Willow close her hands into fists as the latter took a step forward before Tara suddenly felt herself flying back to what remained of the wall that faced the front yard of the Summers home. She felt pressure on her wrists just before her arms were violently pushed back and held against the all, followed by an invisible force that wrapped around her necked and held it in place. All the while, Tara watched Willow walking closer and closer- up the stairs and then onto what remained of the porch, and the blonde witch tried to speak out, "Will…. Will… I.. this.. this is just a dream. I… I… not…"

"You think you could draw me out by taking the form of my love?" Willow demanded to know as she stopped a few inches from Tara, "you think you could replicate her magical signature so perfectly that I'd came out and be a blubbering idiot so that you could kill me?"

"Will…" Tara tried to shake her head, "I…." the force around her neck tightened and she closed her eyes and gasped in pain.

"I am vengeance itself!" Willow yelled out as she placed her hand onto Tara's chest, "and now? Well, after I crush your chest in? I'll leave your body in front of the Red Gates- I'll leave your body for…"

'Willow!" Tara yelled, her magic forcing away the invisible force around her neck. "Willow!" Tara yelled with tears in her eyes. "It's me! it's me!"

"You're good," Willow whispered as she coldly stared at the tears coming down Tara's face, "but Tara died the day Glory killed Dawn and Buffy. She died the day lightning from the portal tearing open in the sky struck her down. I held her in my arms… no, you're not Tara. You just one of the…"

"I'm alive, Willow," Tara whispered shaking her head, "I'm alive. You… this is just a dream. You're sleeping with me.. you… we're in our room. We're…"

"A dream?" Willow scoffed, "I…"

"Willow!" Tara yelled, "it's me."

"Tara died," Willow said as she raised her hand. Tara felt the invisible force around her neck once again.

'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!' Tara mentally commanded herself as she felt the pressure on her neck tighten. 'Wake up!'

"Tara!"

"Die, demon," Willow growled in anger before she closed her hand into a fist. Tara opened her eyes wide as the grip around her neck tightened. At the same time though, she could hear a distant voice calling her name.

"Wake up, Tara," the blonde witch heard as she opened her mouth with a gasp once more. "Hear my voice, Tara. Come back to me, come back."

"For taking the form of the woman whom I love," the Willow in front of her said coldly, "I sentence you to die."

"Tara," the familiar voice whispered in Tara's ears as she closed her eyes. Suddenly, Tara found herself surrounded by darkness. The thought going through her mind was that she was dead, that the Willow in her dream killed her. Then she felt warm fingers on her cheek, warm breath hitting her ear followed by a whisper, "Tara, wake up. You're safe. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare."

Tara's heart was racing as she opened her eyes. A smile formed on her face as she stared back into the unscarred face of her lover. Tara gasped before she reached up and hugged Willow tight, pulling the redhead down as she kissed her cheek.

"I heard you yelling 'wake up'," Willow whispered in Tara's ear, "you're alright, you're alright."

"I.. I had a nightmare," Tara panted while holding on tight to Willow. however, there was a part of Tara that told her what she experienced wasn't a dream. That what she saw was real… that what she had experienced was the aftermath of a possible apocalypse. "It was a nightmare, a nightmare."

"Shhh," Willow whispered into Tara's ear before pulling back and looking into her eyes while lying on top of her, "it was a nightmare. That's all it was."

Tara took a deep breath and nodded her before turning her head to one side away from Willow. She stared at the digital clock on the bedside table, 'it's twelve noon, I must have been out for… wow, it only felt like a few minutes."

The glance to the clock was only a few seconds, but during that time Willow's eyes narrowed in confusion at the sight of the blue and black bruise from just under the Blonde's ear to the nape of her neck. Willow hadn't realized it before until now- but then again, she couldn't have seen it before since the bruise started to spread from the nape of Tara's neck to the areas under her chin, along her throat. Tara then turned her head and stared at the surprise on Willow's face; the green eyes staring at the bruise spreading to the left side of Tara's neck and behind her ear, and the back of her neck.

"Tara?" Willow whispered looking back into her girlfriend's eyes, "there's a bruise across your neck, what happened?"

"What? A stunned Tara asked as she placed her hands on her throat. She didn't feel any stinging sensation before Willow rolled away and then got off the bed. She dashed around the bed to Tara's side and reached out to pull the latter up. The both of the them rushed to the mirror at the dresser where Tara's eyes went wide in shock at the bruise on her neck. It was the same area where she felt the Willow in her nightmare grab her mentally.

Willow placed a hand on Tara's arm, her fingers gently squeezing before saying, "Tara, what kind of nightmare did you have?"

Tara turned to Willow and explained what she had seen in great detail; include the appearance of Willow in her modified uniform- something that surprised the redhead, and then Tara told Willow what the other Willow had said. However, sensing Willow's unease, Tara explained that the Willow she had seen in her nightmare wasn't being controlled by darkness, "she was angry. She said that I died, and.. And so many others died. She mentioned something about Dawn dying, and she was then she gave a name… Glory."

"Glory? Willow asked after a sigh of relief that she hadn't turned to the dark side; however, Willow was still uneasy that she'd try hurting Tara again. "I don't recognize the name."

"Neither do I," Willow said as she brushed her fingers gently along the bruised skin on Tara's neck, "we'll talk to Giles about it. Maybe I should do what I did when I was.. You know… Dark Willow…" The redhead winced at the name of her possessed self while Tara placed her hand on the side of Willow's neck and then took a few steps forward, "use magic to form some alpha radiation and charge the badge. Maybe if I can access my clairvoyant abilities, then we could get a heads up on what's gonna happen. Maybe find out what the other me meant by you're gonna die, Tara."

Tara then nodded her head.

"Now, since the both of us are up," Willow said, "how about we go for a nice warm shower, and then lunch."

"I can go with that," Tara whispered before leaning forward and then passionately kissing Willow's inviting lips. As they kissed, Tara recalled the anger on the other Willow's face as she yelled out that her Tara was dead. 'I'm not dying, and Willow will not become that person so full of rage.'

 **The Summers Home, 1230 hours.**

"What do you think it meant?" Althanea asked as she placed her mug of tea on the island in Joyce's kitchen. The two of them were talking about what Tara said she saw just before the eruption of light from Dawn's body. The very same eruption of light that seemingly cured Willow of the darkness that was locked away from her time in hell, as well as healed the scars on her body. Althanea stared at the cup of now warm team in her hands before looking up at Joyce who leaned back against a counter to the left of the sink and sighed.

Joyce was surprised to hear what Tara had to say about what she had seen, and it was something she couldn't explain. "I'm still getting used to the fact that Dawn was able to do whatever she was able to do. Even Dawn looked surprised, so did you. I remember seeing the surprise on your face."

"Tomorrow we're heading off to Devon to see Mrs. Harkness," Althanea said, "she's supposed to check out Willow- especially now that we know the symbol on her chest sealed away the darkness that accumulated in her during her imprisonment in hell." Joyce suspected what Althanea was about to say next, and the thought of Dawn being sent away made her heart race, "if Dawn's back to full strength by then, would you be okay with her coming along with us? If anyone could figure out if there is a magical component to what happened with her yesterday, then it would be the Coven."

Joyce nodded her head before sighing and then asking if she needed to accompany Dawn as well.

"If you want to come, you're more than welcome," Althanea assured Joyce. Joyce then pressed her lips together before looking away from Althanea. Dawn was in her thoughts, and Joyce felt that it would be better if she was there to help her youngest go through whatever examinations the Coven would be performing on her. Joyce knew that Buffy and Faith were old enough to stay at home by themselves, and they could count on Jenny, Xander, and Anya helping them since they would still be remaining in Sunnydale.

"I'll come with you guys then," Joyce said nodding her head. "We'll make a vacation out of it."

TBC.


	55. Chapter 55

**Sunnydale High Library, two hours later.**

"So the Willow in this dream mentioned someone by the name of Glory?" Giles asked as he leaned back against the counter in the Sunnydale High library. He had his hands in his pockets while looking questioningly at Willow and Tara sitting at the table in the middle of the room with stacks of books behind them on the upper level. "And Tara, you said that this dream, or rather a nightmare, seemed to be something like an apocalyptic future?"

"That's about the gist of it," Tara said with her hands on the top of the table. She looked at Willow to her right, and then back at Giles before continuing to speak, "the whole place felt… evil. Like evil took over the world."

Willow gave Tara a small smile when the latter looked at the redhead again. "But the thing is, Giles," the redhead said turning her head back to Giles who was walking towards them, "what about Tara's throat? The marking there's like someone really did try to strangle her."

"That is indeed strange," Giles said taking a seat across from them, "either Tara's dream was so convincing that her mind created those markings…"

"Like a psychosomatic thing?" Tara asked as Willow smiled at her girlfriend once again. Giles smiled as well before shrugging his shoulders and saying that it was entirely possible. He then leaned forward with his arms on the table and brought forward another theory that was also equally possible, "or it could be that you somehow managed to send yourself to the future through some magic."

"That's not possible," Willow shook her head remembering the warmth of her arm lying over Tara's hips while they slept, "she was with me the entire time. I mean I was sleeping with her, and she was breathing, and well… anyway, then she started shouting… that's when I woke her up."

"Why would I time travel?" Tara asked while her left hand made a motion of an airplane rising into the air before motioning her hand towards her girlfriend, "I mean Willow was with me… I mean really with me. We prevented the end of the world, and…"

"That's something I can't answer," Giles said looking at the both of them while continuing, "maybe there was something that has you worried, Tara? Something that has you so stressed that, at least unconsciously, you sent your soul to the future to make sure that whatever has you stressed does not come to pass."

Tara looked away and tried to think of anything that could be giving her stress; but other than her classes, she couldn't think of anything. It was then that she stopped thinking, and her thoughts focused on the woman she had seen in the light back in their home, the woman who looked like an older Dawn. If nothing else, Tara knew that she was thinking about that woman and who she was, and why she looked just like an older version of Dawn.

And that's what Tara told Giles, that she was thinking about that mysterious woman. Giles nodded his head before running his chin and responding, "maybe that has something to do with what you saw in your dream. You did say that Dawn was killed. And this woman looks very much like Dawn from your description."

"Yeah, but…" Tara shook her head, suddenly unsure of herself, "I don't know."

"Maybe you can find something when we go to Devon?" Willow said with a small smile as she reached for her girlfriend's hand.

"Yeah," Tara whispered nodding her head hopeful that Willow was right. "Yeah."

 **Sunnydale, one week later, 2000 hours.**

Willow felt the warm breeze brush past her dress as she stood in the backyard of her house. She watched the trees slightly sway to-and-fro while the leaves rustled as she breathed out, relieved for the umpteenth time that she was cured of any lingering darkness that remained in her from Hell. It had taken the witches at the Devon Coven several hours to examine her body a week ago, but thankfully they had found nothing. However, they had no explanation for Tara's 'dream' nor anything about the woman that Tara had seen taking the place of Dawn momentarily. They examined the younger Summers, but found that she was a normal human being… no matter how deep they searched into her very being, that was all they found. There was no green energy field that Dark Willow had been talking about.

After their return to the States, life had returned to normal… or at least as normal as it could get for the Scoobies. As Willow stood on the dimly lit grass, the light from the back porch behind her, she turned her head and watched the door to the kitchen open and then close after Tara walked onto the porch. Willow then turned around and smiled at her lover as the blonde witch walked down the three steps to the lawn.

Tara, without a word, walked over to Willow and wrapped her arms around the latter's waist. She then leaned in to kiss the redhead for a few seconds before pulling away. "You ready?" Tara asked looking into Willow's green eyes. After returning from Devon, Willow had told Tara that she needed some time to gather the energy necessary for casting the very spell that would create a small amount of Alpha radiation.

"Well, not really create it," Willow had said a day after returning from Devon, "more like open a breach into a dimension that… you know, contains Alpha Radiation. That's what I did back when I went all Dark."

Back in the present day, the door leading to the porch opened again leading to Tara and Willow turning their heads towards the rear porch. Out onto the porch walked Faith, Giles, Jenny, and Xander; all carrying cans of pop in their hands as they walked down the steps to the back yard after finishing the delivery dinner.

"You sure about this, Will?" Xander asked as Willow reached into her pocket and dug out her Ranger badge.

"We haven't gotten anything on Glory or whatever this Key thing is supposed to be or do," Willow said looking at Xander and then at the badge in her hand, "there's no choice."

"Big G did say he's leaving for London at the end of the week," Faith said nudging Giles who added that he was, in fact, summoned after having been asking around about Glory and the Key. Faith shrugged before continuing, "maybe we wait until he gets back with whatever it is that the Council knows."

"Giles? You think they know anything," Willow asked the older man.

"I was summoned a day after I made a request for any information on the Key and Glory," Giles explained, "either they have more information to give me, or they desire more information. Either way, I'll only know once I have reached London." Giles finished talking before rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Willow, use your clairvoyance abilities to find out what you can about the Key and Glory. I will not share that information with the Council, but will instead use it as an additional source of intelligence."

Nodding her head, Willow asked everyone to step aside before she mentally grabbed her badge and then mentally brought it high into the air. She then raised a hand and closed her eyes while picturing a tear opening up as she recalled the spell she had used a little over a week ago. Tara stood next to Xander, while Faith stood in the middle of Giles and Jenny as they felt the temperature suddenly drop around them. They stood to Willow's left while goosebumps appeared on their arms and the back of their necks as a blue ball of energy gathered in the palm of Willow's outstretched left hand. Willow continued to calmly breath in and out as she mentally lowered the badge and pushed it into the middle of the ball of energy. The group heard Willow mumbling a spell while the energy was being absorbed into the Ranger Badge that had blue energy crackling on its surface. In a few seconds, the light was gone, the badge remained floating, and Willow stepped forward grabbing the badge out of the air.

"You sure about this, Red?" Faith asked.

"Like I said, we still know nothing about this Glory person, or about the Key," Willow said glancing at her and then at the badge, "we need to know what's going on."

"There is no way to know when the Council will have any information on Glory or the Key," Giles added while Tara crossed her arms over her chest, "or rather if they have anything. Willow, this is ultimately up to you. But I feel we must know how dangerous Glory could be, and we need to know what is so important about this Key."

"Tara?" Willow asked.

"I'm right here, baby," she nodded her head, "and I agree with Giles. This is up to you."

"Your choice, Red," Faith added.

"I searched online for anything on Glory and the Key," Jennie said shaking her head, "I tried every occult forum I could find. All in all, I have didly squat. I agree with the others, this is your choice."

"Okay then," Willow whispered looking back at the badge in her hand, "here goes nothing." Willow pressed down on the badge. She heard the click and then felt the familiar surge of the Alpha radiation from the badge rushing through her body to the Series Five implant in her brain. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath while images poured in hard and fast- images she tried to piece together.

"I… I see a man…" Willow whispered while the others listened, "he's wearing some kind of a robe and… wait… I.. I think this is now. I mean right now."

"Where?" asked Giles.

"No, wait…." Willow said as the images started to rush past her once more. The redhead concentrated and slowed the pacing of the images in front of her somewhat, "I see someone handing a glowing ball to Buffy, I… I see… wait…" Willow knew that her clairvoyance abilities would show her everything that could happen. She could control what she saw, but there would be images that bled through what she wanted to see… images that had no part in her need to find out about Glory, "I see… oh God…"

"What is it?" Faith asked in concern before she turned her head to look at an equally concerned Tara who had her eyes wide open in worry. The two of them then turned their heads stared at Willow closing her eyes tightly, "Red?"

"A… a blonde… wearing a red dress is savagely beating Buffy… I… I see her face, Oh.. Faith… I.. I see you and… I'm there…," Willow said as the images of Buffy, Faith, and then Willow herself being beaten to an inch of their lives in a warehouse rushed past her. Then she saw Joyce fall on the kitchen floor with Dawn terrified and standing over her.

Willow spoke out as she watched Joyce telling Buffy, "they found a shadow."

"A shadow?" Tara asked glancing at a worried Giles, "where? Where does Mrs Summers have the shadow?"

"Her.. her brain," Willow whispered with tears falling down her eyes as she watched herself and Tara arguing in their room before the wall was ripped away to reveal the blonde woman in a redress standing enraged. Willow said that the mysterious woman shoved her aside before shoving her hand into Tara's head. "I… no.. the blonde has her hand in Tara… in her head and… she… she's taking energy. I… I see…" Willow shook her head as she saw Faith and Buffy get into the fight, she saw them both killed before a badly injured Willow was thrown into a wall. Willow saw herself fall to the dirt cover floor before going unconscious. Willow then hear da gasp and turned to see Dawn.

"My Key!" the blonde woman yelled before she ripped off Tara's head and then rushed at Dawn while Willow remained injured and lying on the ground amongst the destroyed apartment. Suddenly the images twisted and turned to show her standing in a waiting room with Tara, Xander, Dawn, Anya, and the others. Buffy was telling her that 'they' were taking too long. That 'they' said the operation to take out the tumour would be a couple of hours.

"And it's already been four hours," Buffy said with a worried tone in her voice. The images then changed to show Joyce still alive and recovering with Willow, Buffy, Faith, and everyone else around her. Then the scene around Willow melted once again, and was replaced with the redhead being dressed in black. She looked around and saw Buffy crying while holding onto a sobbing Dawn. Willow then turned to her left and saw a crying Tara, and then Xander, and Anya.

"And we lay our friend, Joyce Summers….." Willow turned her head to the priest, and then to the coffin that was being lowered into the freshly dug earth. Willow shook her head as the scene changed to the blonde Woman killing Dawn high in the air on a tower in a junkyard. There, the blood flowing from the latter caused a surge of energy to appear before a portal opened. Willow saw lightning erupt from the portal before the blonde woman threw aside Dawn's body from the top of the tower, and then jumped into the portal while laughing maniacally. Willow saw the world end as the charge in her badge gave out. Opening her eyes, Willow looked though her tears at the surprised Giles, Faith, Jennie, and Tara.

"Willow?" Giles said taking off his glasses, "you stopped speaking. What did you see?"

"Call Buffy back from patrol," Willow said shaking her head while she placed the Badge back into her jeans pocket, "call everyone for a meeting at the Summers house."

"Willow," Tara said after having seen Giles rush back into the house after appearing to want to saying something, but upon hearing the seriousness in Willow's voice decided against it, "do you know who Glory or the Key are?"

"Yea," Willow whispered wiping the tears from her eyes while her body shuddered at what she had seen. "It's not good. Not good at all and.. and there's more."

"What?" Faith asked with concern in her voice.

"We to discuss this together," Willow said looking at those standing around her, "together."

"Then we have to wait for a few more hours," Jennie said, "Joyce is working later, Althanea has a late night too."

"Then we wait," Willow said while her heart raced at the images she saw, "they need to know… everyone needs to know what's coming."

TBC.


	56. Chapter 56

The bloody Images of what Willow saw with her clairvoyant powers were etched into her mind- the robed man with a terrified look n his face as he rushed towards a warehouse, Buffy being handed a glowing ball of light, the woman in the red dress, and then Joyce's death, followed by the death of Tara.

The redhead walked out of the house carrying a garbage bag in her hand while the others were cleaning up inside after their delivery dinner of pizza and soda. Willow walked to the edge of the driveway, put the bag into the trash bin, and then closed the top cover. She was about to turn around and walk back up the driveway to the front door when she stopped and sighed. The image of the blonde red-dressed woman putting her hand into Tara's brain brought a chill up her spine, and then the image of the same woman tearing Tara's head off made Willow shudder at the thought.

Willow wrapped her arms around herself before beginning to walk up the driveway again and then to her front porch. She could sense that everyone in the house was curious about what she had seen and why it was so urgent that all of them gather at the Summers house. And it would be two hours later that everyone would find out- the thought made Willow's heart race inside her chest; she was about to reveal the truth about the Key, the truth about Joyce's potential death, and the danger they faced in the form of the red dressed woman known as Glory. Reaching the door, Willow sighed and placed a hand on the door knob, twisted it, and then walked into the house.

She needed to steel herself for what was about to come. 'Joyce's death; that blonde woman beating all of us, draining Tara and then killing her, and then killing Dawn,' Willow closed the door behind her before walking up the stairs after telling Faith and the others that she would be back soon. She walked up the stairs while thinking, 'that portal opened when Dawn's blood was spilled. So if Dawn is this Key, and she opens this portal… where does the portal lead to? Or better yet, what could come though that portal and into this world?' Willow reached the top of the stairs just as she reached the top of the stairs. She walked over to her room and placed the badge back in her desk drawer- staring at it for a few seconds before closing the drawer and then sitting on the edge of the bed. She placed her hands on the surface of the bed sheet either side of her and wondered what the next few steps should be.

'We need to discuss this after I tell the others what I saw in my vision,' Willow thought while her eyes glanced over at the closet which contained the white and blue uniform she was wearing a little over a week ago after the darkness within her, the one gathered in hell, was excised, 'that was Niko's… I mean my uniform as a Ranger'. Willow sighed looking away from the closet and turned to her desk where there were a few books on the surface, 'gotta finish my senior year and then….' Willow frowned at the year she lost while in hell, 'two years here and a thousand years there'. Willow closed her eyes and pushed those thought to the back of her mind before she imagined the pulse rifle that she used to carry as a Ranger, 'all those parts are either fictional or theoretical' Willow thought to her as she got off the bed and stood staring at the pieces of paper near her books.

'So,' Willow thought grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil on her desk, 'what would I, theoretically, have to do to make an energy blaster?' Willow closed her eyes with the pencil in her right hand while her left held the paper down onto the table. She recalled taking apart her energy blasting shotgun while her right hand started to draw the components she saw in her mind.

"Willow?"

The redhead heard a distant voice while she imagined putting the shotgun back together while her hand drew onto the paper with the pencil. Willow was back at the Academy before the Series Five implant augmentation; she saw the weapon on a table… a weapon that she had just finished disassembling. She was looking through the eyes of a Ranger, recalling the individual components that made up the insides of the shotgun. She then recalled reassembling the weapon just before a whistle screamed from the front of the great hallway full of a little over a hundred Rangers-in-training.

"Willow?"

Willow opened her eyes. She was pulled away from her memories to her room back in Sunnydale, and then she turned towards the hand on her shoulder and then looked up towards the young woman looking into her eyes.

"We're done downstairs," Tara said before her eyes shifted down to the paper with a list of words and drawings 'are those designs?' and then back to Willow who continued to stare at Tara. "You were up here for nearly twenty minutes."

"It didn't feel like that," Willow whispered narrowing her eyes in confusion. She thought to herself that it felt as if she was in her room for far less than that, 'I just got up here'. Willow turned back to the paper on the table and the pencil in her hand, and then back to the paper, "energy regulators, capacitors, modulators, and.."

"Willow?" Tara asked looking at the paper, at the outline of the shotgun and then down at the shapes, 'no, looks like schematics' that pointed to various parts of the weapon. "What is it? What is this?"

"Niko's… I mean my energy weapon," Willow whispered as Tara gently squeezed her shoulder, "in my vision I saw this woman in red kill you, Tara."

"Will…" Tara was surprised as Willow turned her head to her. Tara shook her head before saying that her visions didn't necessarily have to come true, "your visions…."

"They did come true," Willow whispered turning her body towards Tara, "I had a vision that the Judge would rise, I had a vision that Acathla would open a portal into hell, I had a vision that I would end up in hell." Willow then sighed before reaching out for and gently holding Tara's hands in hers, "and they all came true." Tara narrowed her eyes and frowned while Willow continued, "I can still see the woman kill you."

"We'll change it," Tara whispered holding Willow's hand tight, "we'll change it."

"I…." Willow closed her eyes and stared at the vision of Tara's head being torn off. Willow shook her head to get that image out of her mind, "any idea I come up with… any idea I have about energy weapons or anything that could help us is just fictional, Tara." Willow sighed at the thought that everything she had drawn and labelled on the paper were all fictional- and she made a wish that the components really did exist.

"I know," the light blonde witch said as the two of them stepped into the hallway.

"What I drew there on the paper were just fictional components… and…." Willow whispered before she turned her head at Tara once they reached the top of the staircase, "and I want to protect you. I will not lose you."

"You won't," Tara replied softly while she remembered her own dream, "you won't lose me." Willow then sighed nodding her head as her hand reached for, and gently landed on the small of Tara's back.

 **The Summers Residence, now.**

"So… so," Joyce said, her voice shaking as she leaned forward and grabbed her knees. She was seated next to a worried Dawn and Buffy on either side of her while Giles and Jenny were on another armchair. Anya and Xander were seated together with Faith leaning back against a wall, her face expressionless as she crossed her arms over her chest. Joy rubbed her thighs as she shook her head while trying to process wat Willow had just revealed after having returned from work. Joyce looked back up at Willow seated across from her on another armchair while Tara stood by looking worried, "so… I… I die?"

"From an aneurysm?" Dawn asked before taking a deep breath, "after she… she gets a…"

"Shadow," Giles finished what Dawn was struggling to say. He turned to Willow and whispered, "you mentioned a shadow when you used your clairvoyant abilities."

"A tumour," Althanea whispered stunned.

While Buffy and Dawn were holding tight to Joyce's hands, the former looked straight at Willow, her eyes boring into the redhead's for any sign of deception, 'come on. I should know that Willow, even if she's still angry about what happened with Oz, would joke about something like this.' Buffy knew that Willow was still angry about Oz and everything that happened after that- they were still rebuilding their friendship which was now back to steady ground, 'no, Willow would never joke about something like this even if she was still furious at me. Never about something like this.' Buffy gulped before looking back at her mother and grasping her hand, "but she survives." Buffy then turned back towards Willow, "she survives the first operation and then…"

Dawn could see Buffy's hand, the one laying on top of Joyce's hand which itself rested on her own knee, was trembling. "She dies," Dawn whispered with tears welling in her eyes as she looked back at Willow, and then at Tara who rushed to the young girl.

"We have to try and change the future," Giles said while Jenny and Althanea strode over to Joyce, the latter saying that she knew a very good doctor at Sunnydale Mercy who could take a look at Joyce.

"Have you been having headaches, or… or anything happened that was out of place?" Althanea asked Joyce who whispered she was having headaches sometimes, but she thought they were simply due to stress.

"And probably because of the information I just learned," Joyce managed a chuckle to break through the tension. She turned to Althanea who simply stared back, and then at Willow who averted her eyes away, "Willow, the last time you saw the future, everything came true."

Willow looked back at Joyce, and then at Buffy and the others, and then back at Tara who was comforting the worried Dawn. She saw the brunette looking back at her with tear filled eyes before she said, "yes." Willow heard a thud and turned to Faith looking away at the dining room, her fist slamming against the wall behind her again. Buffy looked back at the younger Slayer who turned her head back to the older blonde before shaking her head.

"I have to go out," Faith mumbled pushing herself off the wall. She was about to turn and head for the foyer when Giles called out.

"Faith, we need…"

"I… I just need to hit something," Faith whispered looking at Giles and then at Joyce. "I.. I just want to hit something, Joyce. And…"

"My other visions were… I mean there was no context for my other visions," Willow whispered at Joyce and then at Buffy, and then she turned to Faith. The redhead knew exactly how the newer Slayer felt- very helpless against something that they couldn't hit. "But now, I know what's going to happen and how. Which means we can watch out for any warning signs and…"

"Forget warning signs," Buffy said turning her head towards Joyce, "we're gonna see a doctor tomorrow." Buffy then turned back towards Willow, "I thought the visions you see always comes true?"

Willow nodded her head before saying, "we still try changing it." Willow then glanced up at Tara, "because this time, if what happens in my visions comes true?" Willow then looked back at Buffy, "then it means Tara dies." Willow saw the shocked expressions on the faces of everyone except Tara as she continued to speak, "it means Buffy and Faith dies, it means… I see death."

"So what else did you see, Willow?" Giles asked while Jenny and Althanea stared at each other in worry as they wondered what Willow had seen. They had been waiting until everyone was together so Willow could tell them all, and all that waiting had built up a sense of dark foreboding. Something that was confirmed when Willow said, "I know what Glory looks like, and… and I know about the Key."

"Okay," lets take this one at a time," Joyce said shaking her head, "lets forget my potential tumour for a little while, and…"

"It's not a potential tumour, Mrs Summers," Willow said before looking away, "you need to see a doctor."

"I will," Joyce said, "but for now, we have Glory's identity... and we know what the Key is."

"No what," Willow said staring at Joyce, and then at Dawn, and then back at Joyce, "it's a who."

"The Key is a human being?" Jenny asked.

"Yea," Willow glanced at Dawn again before looking over to Jenny, "she's a human being. And… and she needs to be protected." Willow then looked back at Dawn, "she needs to be protected."

"Willow?" Dawn asked once she noticed the redhead staring at her, "Will?"

"You're the Key, Dawnie," Willow whispered as everyone turned to the brunette, "you need to be protected at all costs."

"Oh," a stunned Dawn whispered.

TBC


End file.
